The new Gogo 5G solution is still a year-ish away for aircraft owners, but the company announced availability of AVANCE LX5, an upgrade to the L5 solution that delivers a more compact installation on board.
inflight wifi
Gilat, Satcom Direct team for OneWeb BizAv ESA
Gilat and Satcom Direct have teamed to develop an electronically steered antenna (ESA) terminal for OneWeb connectivity as part of SD’s Plane Simple antenna line, with availability expected in 2025.
Swiss introduces free messaging, cheaper inflight connectivity packages
One of the most expensive inflight internet services is about to become massively more affordable. Swiss is dramatically revamping its inflight connectivity pricing, including introducing a free messaging tier.
Gogo 5G takes a year delay on additional chip flaws
The Gogo 5G service will, once again, be delayed. The company announced a design error which must be resolved prior to deployment. Gogo 5G is now expected to go live in mid-2024, pending resolution of the chip flaws.
Eutelsat 10B enters service
Inflight and maritime connectivity secured a boost in capacity from the North Atlantic to the Indian Ocean this week as Eutelsat 10B entered service.
Can a quick integration solve Viasat’s predicament
As Viasat works to mitigate the impact of its ViaSat-3 Americans reflector deployment troubles the company’s integration process with Inmarsat may prove a significant factor.
Deployment challenges hamper ViaSat-3 activation
Viasat’s plans to massively increase capacity and coverage with the ViaSat-3 constellation will have to wait a bit longer. After weeks of speculation and rumors the company confirmed “an unexpected event occurred during reflector deployment that may materially impact the performance of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite.”
Rolling delays hit inflight connectivity over China
When it comes to inflight connectivity growth opportunity China is hard to ignore. It is a massive market, but one with almost no short-haul aircraft carrying Wi-Fi hardware on board. And despite repeated promises that the online world is finally ready to imminently take flight, at least one supplier is finally backing off the hype and recognizing significant additional delays in getting its systems off the ground.
JAL plans boost for inflight Wi-Fi service
Japan Airlines was an early adopter of inflight Wi-Fi internet service on board, and now the airline is ready to upgrade the offering. The company will upgrade approximately 50 aircraft in its “domestic” 737 and 767 fleet to the 2Ku solution from Intelsat.
Testing the next step for LEO-based IFC
On Monday afternoon a CRJ700 landed at Rocky Mountain Metro Airport near Broomfield, Colorado after more than four hours en route from Portland, Maine. Fortunately, no passengers found themselves enduring the “comfort” of that long ride in a little jet. But, thanks to the work happening on board, millions of travelers annually will soon have access to a better inflight Wi-Fi experience.