Gogo picks OneWeb low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network

Duncan Aviation Gogo Connectivity

Gogo Business Aviation plans to offer the first business aviation global broadband service on a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.

It is partnering with OneWeb which has launched 428 satellites out of a planned 648 satellites,

Aircraft will have an electronically steered antenna (ESA) – opening up satellite connectivity to smaller aircraft that could not be fitted with traditional antenna. Hughes Network Systems has designed the ESA antenna.

*“This will be a fast and affordable broadband system that will provide best-in-class global performance on the broadest range of aircraft in business aviation,” said Sergio Aguirre, Gogo Business Aviation’s president and chief operating officer. “We want to give everyone in business aviation the ability to have an exceptional broadband experience regardless of where they fly, or what size aircraft they fly.”

*Not available yetWill go live when OneWeb is fully launched so not available yet.

CJI View Gogo has been working on adding satellite connectivity to its very successful Air-to-ground US North American network for several years. Its decision to go for a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network is a significant one for aviation connectivity. Existing satellite companies argue that LEO is best at the poles but not as strong as Ka or Ku band. However, one OEM is already planning on making all its new aircraft LEO compliant with either OneWeb or Elon Musk’s Star Link.

Full press release

GENEVA (EBACE) – May 22, 2022 – Gogo Business Aviation (NASDAQ: GOGO) today announced it will launch the first global broadband service in business aviation to use an electronically steered antenna (ESA) on a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.

Gogo’s exclusive antenna assembly, designed in conjunction with Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), will be small enough for installation on the fuselage of business aircraft from super light jets and large turboprops to ultralong-range jets, and will operate on OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency broadband global network.

To access the network, the new service will require just one Gogo AVANCE LRU inside the aircraft, which means existing AVANCE customers will only have to install the ESA antenna, with a single cable for power in, and a single cable for data out.

“This will be a fast and affordable broadband system that will provide best-in-class global performance on the broadest range of aircraft in business aviation,” said Sergio Aguirre, Gogo Business Aviation’s president and chief operating officer. “We want to give everyone in business aviation the ability to have an exceptional broadband experience regardless of where they fly, or what size aircraft they fly.”

The OneWeb network will deliver performance comparable to terrestrial broadband services, with game-changing low latency that is significantly less than geostationary satellites (GEOs). A multitude of users will be able to simultaneously perform data-heavy interactive online activities such as conducting simultaneous live video conferences, accessing cloud solutions such as Office365, watching live TV, streaming video applications like TikTok, and much more.

“Our agreement with Gogo Business Aviation represents a leap forward for business aviation connectivity,” said Ben Griffin, vice president Mobility at OneWeb. “By harnessing the power of our LEO constellation to deliver robust, consistent, and reliable global coverage, OneWeb and Gogo will be able to offer an unmatched experience to business jet operators and passengers worldwide.”

OneWeb’s LEO constellation is fully funded and will consist of 648 satellites, 428 of which have already been launched.

“The world has been waiting for a high performance, cost-effective, flat panel antenna solution to realize the global, high-speed, low-latency promise of LEO satellite broadband – and Hughes has delivered,” said Reza Rasoulian, vice president, Hughes. “Gogo’s selection of the Hughes ESA solution affirms our engineering excellence and unlocks the value of OneWeb’s global capacity for high-speed, inflight broadband anywhere on the planet.”

Unlike GEO solutions, Gogo’s LEO service will include one fuselage-mounted unit with an integrated antenna, modem, power supply and RF converter; will only require 28 volts of DC power; will not rely on aircraft-positioning data; and will include an AVANCE router.

“We’ve designed the system to reduce costs by simplifying the installation,” Aguirre continued. “We have long delivered affordable, high-quality connectivity, and award-winning customer service to aircraft owners in North America, and now we want to bring those same benefits to all aircraft owners in the rest of the world.”

For customers with an AVANCE L3 or L5 system in North America, the unique multi-bearer capability of the AVANCE platform will allow Gogo to combine capacity from OneWeb’s LEO satellite network with Gogo’s ATG network to deliver even higher capacity than LEO alone can provide.

The Gogo broadband service for business aviation will be available soon after the OneWeb network is fully launched and commercially available.

Gogo will provide global customer support through its network of 118 authorized dealers, including 24 that operate outside the United States, serving Gogo’s more-than-1000 non-U.S. narrowband satellite customers that today operate in 83 countries around the world.