Gogo Galileo Product Line Debuts

Gogo Business Aviation, the American provider of in-flight broadband Internet and connectivity solutions for business aircraft, has unveiled a second electronically-steered antenna (ESA) compatible with the company’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband network. The new antenna’s debut occasions the introduction of Gogo’s Galileo product line.

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

Gogo president and CEO Sergio Aguirre stated: “With the introduction of the FDX antenna, our AVANCE platform now offers a complete portfolio of North American Air-To-Ground (ATG) and global LEO products to meet the unique needs of each segment of the business aviation market. We have solutions to fit any aircraft size, flying any mission, whether the owner is focused on value, high performance, or redundancy, all coupled with our award-winning customer support.”

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

Mr. Aguirre added: “Leveraging the research and development investment of the HDX antenna, we have successfully accelerated our roadmap of bringing a second, best-in-class antenna to the market. FDX will maximize the capacity and performance of the OneWeb network for nearly eight-thousand global heavy jet operators.”

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.

Hughes vice-president Reza Rasoulian set forth: “We’re proud to support Gogo as they continue to enhance their world-class inflight broadband system for business aviation. Thanks to the dynamic partnership between Gogo and Hughes, combined with our engineering expertise and close collaboration with OneWeb, Gogo Business Aviation customers will soon realize an unmatched LEO connectivity experience worldwide.”

Upon Galileo’s launch, Gogo—by virtue of a hybrid LEO and 5G architecture enabled by the AVANCE platform’s unique multi-bearer capability—will offer the North American continent’s fastest and highest-capacity inflight connectivity products.

OneWeb head of business aviation Jason Sperry remarked: “We’re excited to see Gogo’s continued progress alongside the very tangible progress OneWeb has made in recent weeks with the completion of our LEO constellation, and the continued roll out of our ground infrastructure. It’s clear that together we mean business.”

OneWeb 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.

For purpose of futureproofing its connectivity schemes, Gogo designed its AVANCE platform with an eye toward upgradability. In the case of Galileo, operators of aircraft equipped with AVANCE products (L3, L5, or SCS) may access LEO networks by simply retrofitting their planes with an FDX or HDX antenna installation.

Gogo 5G is expected to deliver an average of 25-megabits-per-second (Mbps), with peak-speeds in the 75-80 Mbps range.

FMI: www.gogoair.com