Gogo Overcomes Critical Design Review of 5G Chip

Put yourself in 2019 for a moment. Business aviation demands faster speeds, and adding the power of in-flight connectivity and entertainment to an aircraft shouldn’t complicated. Gogo takes that demand as a challenge, and sets out to build a 5G network in the U.S.

Now, fast-forward to 2022. Gogo’s 5G network towers, 150 of 150, are live in the continental U.S.

With the towers completed, Gogo is on to its next step of delivering a 5G network to meet business aviation demands, which is expected to launch commercially in Q4 of 2023.

The chip needed for Gogo 5G is in fabrication, with delivery expected midyear 2023 after passing a critical design review.

"The design review was an important process and milestone before entering into the manufacturing cycle," said Mike Syverson, Gogo's Senior Vice President of Engineering. "We felt that passing this amount of review would give us the confidence necessary to deliver 5G in 2023."

Gogo’s 5G service is expected to deliver average speeds of around 25 Mbps, with peak speeds in the 75-80 Mbps range. It is designed to deliver high throughput with low latency to address the increasing demand for data-heavy interactive services like video conferencing, live TV and gaming.

For its customers, Gogo's platform AVANCE  allows for easy upgrade paths to Gogo 5G and Gogo's global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based product in the future. According to Gogo, AVANCE should be thought of similarly to how consumers think of Apple (News - Alert). The value of the AVANCE platform comes from its features and its ability to be the central technology that connects to and grows with other tools, innovations, products and services.

Customers who want Gogo 5G service can install the AVANCE L5 system with full 5G provisions and operate on Gogo's 4G network until the X3 LRU is available. Once the X3 is ready, it can be installed quickly and 5G service begins immediately. This is a way to save downtime and expenses.

Additionally, Gogo is offering incentives to anyone who installs the 5G provisional kit with the AVANCE L5.