Gogo Inflight Internet
Encyclopedia
Gogo provides in-flight broadband Internet service, streaming video and other connectivity services for commercial and business aircraft. In June of 2011, the company formally changed its name from Aircell
to Gogo as part of a rebranding effort. Prior to the rebrand, Gogo's commercial air service was known as "Gogo Inflight Internet." Aircell remains the name of the company's business aviation division.
Gogo allows airline passengers to connect to the Internet through a system of cell towers on the ground. Their Air to Ground (ATG) system is a 3G wireless technology that utilizes EV-DO Rev. A.
Gogo owns more than 100 towers, which together form a network over the continental U.S. and parts of Alaska. The towers are cellphone towers that have been outfitted to point their signals at the sky rather than along the ground. The aircraft picks up the signal through a receiver installed on its underside. When it reaches the aircraft, the data signal is distributed throughout the cabin via a Wi-Fi
system. Customers are required to enter their e-mail address and complete a CAPTCHA
before using the service.
The company announced that in 2012 they will launch a next generation Air to Ground service called ATG-4. Gogo claims its ATG-4 service will significantly enhance the existing ATG network and improve per aircraft capacity by approximately four times current performance through the addition of Directional Antenna, Dual Modem and EV-DO Rev.B technologies.
Gogo also says it will provide airlines with Ka-band satellite technology to provide additional capacity to supplement what is available through ATG, ATG-4. Satellite service will enable Gogo service beyond the continental United States. The company says they plan to deploy a Ka-band satellite solution by 2014.
The Gogo service is compatible with Macintosh
, Linux
, and Windows computers, as well as devices that have Wi-Fi capability, including BlackBerry
, Windows Mobile
, Android, and iPhone
.
Connection onboard is similar to the experience at Wi-Fi hotspots such as coffee shops and hotels. The user connects to the gogoinflight network and registers in the same way they would on the ground. The network becomes accessible as soon as electronic devices are approved for use after take-off.
The service includes account management and allows purchasing service before the flight using the product web site. VoIP applications are prohibited by the terms of service.
in July 2008. The first routes served were JFK to San Francisco, JFK to LAX, and JFK to Miami. They are currently expanding to include Gogo service on the full American Airlines domestic fleet.
On August 5, 2008, Delta Air Lines
announced it would install Gogo on all its domestic aircraft, which has since been completed. Recently, Delta announced that Gogo service would be expanded to include its full fleet of Delta regional jets. but a 2009 merger with Northwest Airlines added to the fleet. By early April 2010, 437 of 540 aircraft in the combined domestic fleet offered Wi-Fi, with remaining installations expected by summer 2010.
Virgin America
became the first airline with fleetwide in-flight Internet access, in March 2009.
On July 14, 2009, AirTran Airways
completed installation of Gogo on 136 of its aircraft.
October 2, 2009 saw the launch of Gogo on United Airlines
' p.s.
flight 23 from New York to Los Angeles. The company plans to have Gogo installed on its entire p.s.
fleet by November 6, 2009.
On November 20, 2009 Gogo announced that Air Canada
has begun trials of the Gogo system on select Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles flights which occur in large part over the continental US.
On February 24, 2010, Alaska Airlines
announced that it will offer Gogo on its full fleet. The full fleet installation was completed in the fall of 2011.
On March 29, 2010, US Airways
announced that all its Airbus A321 fleet would offer Gogo by June 1, 2011. The full fleet installation was completed in the fall of 2011.
Internet access
in the air is much welcomed by the Internet-reliant public, particularly business travelers. The participating airlines hope to increase revenue with the additional fees, in a time when air travel is down and remaining customers are reluctant to pay higher prices for plane tickets.
Aircell
Aircell is a private company started in 1991 developing broadband for both private and commercial aviation. Aircell is the only company in the United States authorized by the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aviation Administration to use frequencies in the 800 MHz band for...
to Gogo as part of a rebranding effort. Prior to the rebrand, Gogo's commercial air service was known as "Gogo Inflight Internet." Aircell remains the name of the company's business aviation division.
Gogo allows airline passengers to connect to the Internet through a system of cell towers on the ground. Their Air to Ground (ATG) system is a 3G wireless technology that utilizes EV-DO Rev. A.
Gogo owns more than 100 towers, which together form a network over the continental U.S. and parts of Alaska. The towers are cellphone towers that have been outfitted to point their signals at the sky rather than along the ground. The aircraft picks up the signal through a receiver installed on its underside. When it reaches the aircraft, the data signal is distributed throughout the cabin via a Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
system. Customers are required to enter their e-mail address and complete a CAPTCHA
CAPTCHA
A CAPTCHA is a type of challenge-response test used in computing as an attempt to ensure that the response is generated by a person. The process usually involves one computer asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade...
before using the service.
The company announced that in 2012 they will launch a next generation Air to Ground service called ATG-4. Gogo claims its ATG-4 service will significantly enhance the existing ATG network and improve per aircraft capacity by approximately four times current performance through the addition of Directional Antenna, Dual Modem and EV-DO Rev.B technologies.
Gogo also says it will provide airlines with Ka-band satellite technology to provide additional capacity to supplement what is available through ATG, ATG-4. Satellite service will enable Gogo service beyond the continental United States. The company says they plan to deploy a Ka-band satellite solution by 2014.
Connectivity and performance
During a 2008 test by a journalist on a flight, coverage was continuous and only small lags in speed were detected when passing from one cell tower signal to the next. The speed of the connection during that test was comparable to a cell phone’s Internet surfing speed on land or a home DSL connection: approximately 500–600 Kibit/s for downloads and 300 Kibit/s for uploads. Total bandwidth for the flight is approximately 3 Mbit/s.The Gogo service is compatible with Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, and Windows computers, as well as devices that have Wi-Fi capability, including BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
, Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
, Android, and iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
.
Connection onboard is similar to the experience at Wi-Fi hotspots such as coffee shops and hotels. The user connects to the gogoinflight network and registers in the same way they would on the ground. The network becomes accessible as soon as electronic devices are approved for use after take-off.
The service includes account management and allows purchasing service before the flight using the product web site. VoIP applications are prohibited by the terms of service.
Participating airlines
Gogo service began on American AirlinesAmerican Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
in July 2008. The first routes served were JFK to San Francisco, JFK to LAX, and JFK to Miami. They are currently expanding to include Gogo service on the full American Airlines domestic fleet.
On August 5, 2008, Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
announced it would install Gogo on all its domestic aircraft, which has since been completed. Recently, Delta announced that Gogo service would be expanded to include its full fleet of Delta regional jets. but a 2009 merger with Northwest Airlines added to the fleet. By early April 2010, 437 of 540 aircraft in the combined domestic fleet offered Wi-Fi, with remaining installations expected by summer 2010.
Virgin America
Virgin America
Virgin America, Inc. is a United States-based low-cost airline that began service on August 8, 2007. The airline's stated aim is to provide low-fare, high-quality service for "long-haul point-to-point service between major metropolitan cities on the Eastern and West Coast seaboards." San Francisco...
became the first airline with fleetwide in-flight Internet access, in March 2009.
On July 14, 2009, AirTran Airways
AirTran Airways
AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of the Dallas, Texas-based Southwest Airlines, is an American low-cost airline headquartered in Orlando, Florida. AirTran operates over 650 daily flights , primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States...
completed installation of Gogo on 136 of its aircraft.
October 2, 2009 saw the launch of Gogo on United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
' p.s.
United p.s.
United p.s. is a premium service offered by United Airlines on flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and San Francisco International Airport or Los Angeles International Airport. The fleet consists of specially configured Boeing 757-200 aircraft with three classes of service: United...
flight 23 from New York to Los Angeles. The company plans to have Gogo installed on its entire p.s.
United p.s.
United p.s. is a premium service offered by United Airlines on flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and San Francisco International Airport or Los Angeles International Airport. The fleet consists of specially configured Boeing 757-200 aircraft with three classes of service: United...
fleet by November 6, 2009.
On November 20, 2009 Gogo announced that Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
has begun trials of the Gogo system on select Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles flights which occur in large part over the continental US.
On February 24, 2010, Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
announced that it will offer Gogo on its full fleet. The full fleet installation was completed in the fall of 2011.
On March 29, 2010, US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
announced that all its Airbus A321 fleet would offer Gogo by June 1, 2011. The full fleet installation was completed in the fall of 2011.
Market potential
BroadbandBroadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
in the air is much welcomed by the Internet-reliant public, particularly business travelers. The participating airlines hope to increase revenue with the additional fees, in a time when air travel is down and remaining customers are reluctant to pay higher prices for plane tickets.
See also
- OnAirOnAirIncorporated in February 2005, OnAir is a joint venture with SITA and Airbus. OnAir is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has operations in Seattle and Montreal and sales offices in London, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai....
- Panasonic Avionics CorporationPanasonic Avionics CorporationPanasonic Avionics Corporation is a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California with major business functions also shared with the former headquarters located in Bothell, WA.Established in 1980, the product engineering and development departments are...
- Row 44Row 44Row 44 is a Westlake Village, California-based company providing in-flight broadband connectivity for the passengers, cockpit and crew of commercial aircraft...
- Connexion by BoeingConnexion by BoeingConnexion by Boeing was an in-flight online Internet connectivity service from Boeing. This service allowed travellers to access a high-speed internet connection while on board a plane in flight through a wired Ethernet or a wireless 802.11 Wi-Fi connection. Connexion by Boeing was formed as a...