SmartSky scored a legal victory this week with the US Patent Office declining to institute an inter partes review of U.S. Patent No. 9,312,947 (“the ‘947 patent”), a challenge lodged by Gogo in April. The ruling at this stage is based on the USPTO’s believe that Gogo “has not demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing in demonstrating that at least one challenged claim of the ’947 patent is unpatentable over the prior art of record.” As a result, the issue won’t even make it to a formal hearing for review.
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WSS fights back against SmartSky’s legal claims
Wireless Systems Solutions issued a statement late Monday disputing the charges levied by SmartSky in a federal lawsuit. Calling the filing retaliatory, WSS’s Laslo Gross spoke with PaxEx.Aero about the claims and what he expects in the next steps of the case.
SmartSky sues supplier over IP theft, delays network deployment
One of SmartSky’s suppliers is accused of stealing the inflight connectivity company’s intellectual property and trying to sell it as an independent ATG network rather than delivering the contracted goods to the company. This one is gonna get messy, folks.
Digging in to the ATG deal between Gogo and Intelsat
With the infusion of new cash coming as part of the Intelsat deal Gogo is well-positioned to invest in its updated air-to-ground (ATG) network, branded “Gogo 5G.” And the company has high hopes for increased revenue that network will deliver, both from its Business Aviation customers and from Intelsat. The latter secured a 10-year exclusive contract to resell Gogo’s ATG connectivity to commercial airlines and the (mostly) regional jets flying with the system installed as part of the deal to acquire the Commercial Aviation business.
SkyFive makes major 5G inflight connectivity progress in China
SkyFive is betting big on inflight connectivity in China. The upstart air-to-ground (ATG) network infrastructure provider recently announced a Strategic Technology Partnership with Airbus. The partnership also includes China Mobile as the local mobile telecom provider.
Gogo confirms "extensive" discussions to sell commercial airline inflight connectivity business
For more than two years Gogo teased the idea of splitting the company between its Commercial (airline) and Business (private) Aviation segments. The rumblings ebb and flow, but by mid-July the tone of the conversation was undeniable. Now the company confirmed the news. Gogo has retained outside advisors to assist with the formal process to “evaluate our strategic options” for the business.
Connectivity: Splitsville
‘Tis the season for restructuring in the aviation world. And for one supplier a deal years in the making may finally be on the horizon.
Gogo brushes off new ZTE concerns
Gogo faces new challenges to some of its government contracts as the Feds look to push out any companies using technology from a handful of Chinese suppliers.
SmartSky counters Gogo’s patent dispute
When Gogo filed for a review of a key SmartSky patent in April the upstart inflight connectivity company vowed to defend its intellectual property portfolio. At its core, SmartSky’s position is that Gogo chose to redefine the term “Software Defined Radio.” SkartSky also posits that much of the petition is redundant to evidence previously considered in the initial application review.
Nokia, EE team up for new air-to-ground connectivity network
Nokia found a new opportunity to deploy its air-to-ground inflight connectivity hardware. The company behind the ground station antennae for Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network secured a deal with EE, part of the British Telecom group, to deploy a nationwide, dedicated, airborne communications network for Great Britain’s emergency services.