SmartSky Slaps Gogo with Antitrust Claims

Four months after halting operations SmartSky filed a lawsuit against Gogo claiming “systematic anti-competitive practices destroyed competition for internet connectivity in business aviation” in violation of the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, and North Carolina state tort laws and the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The suit seeks more than $1 billion in damages and is separate from the pending patent lawsuit.

Going against Goliath is always hard. But it was Gogo’s lying, cheating, and comprehensive anticompetitive campaign to steal SmartSky’s chance to enter the market that created insurmountable barriers to entry, forced SmartSky out of business, and maintained Gogo’s monopoly. – SmartSky lawsuit filing

In the 60+ page filing SmartSky details its efforts to compete against Gogo’s incumbent position in the ATG connectivity market.  The argument follows two key paths. First, Gogo falsely claimed in public that the SmartSky solution was less capable than reality, while also lying about its own progress in developing “Gogo 5G” and the capabilities of that system. Second, SmartSky argues that Gogo brought undue pressure on OEMs and MROs to influence them to not consider SmartSky as a potential partner, despite consumer demand and demonstrated network performance.

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Perhaps discovery will uncover a smoking gun email or memo. But arguing that the MROs (or OEMs) were obligated to develop programs for the new product – even if customers are asking for it – is an interesting position to prove.

A query to Gogo for comment remains pending at time of publication.