Agency Approves Gogo 5G on Bombardier Challenger 300 Series

Skyservice Business Aviation, in partnership with Gogo Business Aviation has received Supplemental Type Certification (STC) approval from Transport Canada for Gogo’s 5G system aboard Bombardier Challenger 300 series aircraft.

The comprehensive Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) STC is available to Challenger 300 operators opting to retrofit their aircraft with Gogo’s AVANCE L5 and the full Gogo 5G provisional kit.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) STC approval of the Gogo 5G kit is expected presently.

Skyservice president and CEO Benjamin Murray stated: "Skyservice manages one of the largest fleets of Bombardier aircraft in Canada, and is also an authorized service facility for Bombardier, and a business aviation dealer for Gogo. We are thrilled to provide innovative, world-class 5G service for our clients and customers from around the world looking for data-heavy interactive communication solutions."

Gogo vice-president of aftermarket sales David Salvador remarked: "The Skyservice Business Aviation team has been a long-standing, valued partner with Gogo. We're excited to see their continued investments that will bring Gogo 5G certification to the Challenger 300 series, ensuring a great inflight connectivity experience today and well into the future."

Customers opting to upgrade to AVANCE L5 will realize immediate performance boost and be provisioned for Gogo 5G’s upcoming launch. During 5G provisioning, aircraft will be retrofitted with Gogo’s AVANCE L5 system and two belly-mounted multiband (MB13) antennas. The system will operate on the Gogo Biz 4G network until the AVANCE LX5 single box LRU—fully-integrated with Gogo 5G connectivity—is available for installation in 2024’s second or third quarter.

OneWeb, Gogo’s LEO satellite network provider, completed deployment of its 588-satellite LEO constellation at the end of March 2023. The London-based communications company expects its constellation to be operational and aero-ready in 2024’s first quarter, with Gogo’s global broadband service coming online prior to the end of 2024.

In February 2023, Gogo and its antenna provider, Hughes Network Systems, completed preliminary design review of a proprietary, electronically-steerable antenna (ESA) assembly, thereby bringing Gogo one step closer to realizing its vision of delivering an order-of-magnitude improvement in inflight connectivity for all sizes and manner of global business aircraft—many of which currently want for a viable broadband solution.

In May 2023, Gogo unveiled a second electronically-steered antenna (ESA) compatible with the company’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband network. The new antenna’s debut occasioned the introduction of Gogo’s Galileo product line.

Currently, Gogo offers two fuselage-mounted antennas: the HDX model, the small size of which lends itself to installation on even light business aircraft models; and the FDX antenna, which is designed to fit on larger aircraft and delivers best-in-class performance.

Gogo developed the HDX and FDX antennas in close collaboration with broadband equipment and services provider Hughes Network Systems, which will manufacture both models.

The new FDX antenna is a premier solution offering the selfsame base functions of its more compact HDX predecessor, while offering users faster data speeds, higher throughput, and lower latency than current geosynchronous (GEO) satellite systems are capable of delivering—thereby simultaneously supporting multiple unique VPN, interactive video, and gaming sessions aboard a given aircraft.

Gogo’s AVANCE L3 and L5 feature Gogo Vision 360, a complete In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) architecture providing unlimited streaming of on-demand movies, television news and programming, leading digital magazine titles, and state-of-the-art 3D moving maps. Gogo Vision’s fixed monthly price eliminates the unpredictability and high costs characteristic of competitors’ in-flight streaming services

Gogo’s AVANCE L5 5G promises to afford air-travelers greater connectivity and data transfer rates across more devices than extant systems. Specifically, Gogo 5G is expected to deliver an average of approximately 25-megabytes-per-second (Mbps), with peak-speeds in the 75-80 Mbps range. To address the increasing demand for data-heavy interactive services the likes of video conferencing and gaming, the network has been designed to deliver high throughput with low latency.

The multi-bearer capability and software-centric design of Gogo’s AVANCE platform allows customers to future-proof their inflight connectivity investments, and offers upgrade paths to Gogo’s 5G and global Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite-based networks.

Aircraft equipped with Gogo’s AVANCE L5 air-to-ground inflight Wi-Fi system may be upgraded straight-away to Gogo 5G.

Notwithstanding successive delays in the delivery of its 5G chip—a component essential to the actualization of the company’s ambitions—Gogo remains confident in its ability to bring to market the first 5G network conceived of and developed exclusively for business aviation. What’s more, Gogo expects the project to remain on budget; the delay, however, is anticipated to reduce the company’s 2023 revenues by approximately $7-million and defer some $13-million in operating and capital expenses from 2023 into 2024.

As of 30 June 2023, Gogo reported 7,064 business aircraft flying with its Air-To-Ground (ATG) systems onboard, 3,598 of which are flying with a Gogo AVANCE L5 or L3 system; and 4,433 aircraft with narrowband satellite connectivity installed.

FMI: www.gogoair.com