In-flight broadband provider Row 44 has raised $37 million in new equity, which will be used to continue executing its North American service launch plans for Southwest Airlines fleet and global network build-out strategy, Row 44 announced Sept. 9.
    The service provider said the new funds assure that there will be two competitive systems offering Wi-Fi service on North American commercial flights, since Row 44’s satellite-based Wi-Fi service deployment had been delayed by regulatory holdups while its competitor Aircell was rolling out its GoGo in-flight service on several airlines.
    Southwest Airlines announced it planned to install Row 44’s service on its entire fleet of more than 500 passenger aircraft while Aircell reported it had raised $178 million to finance its service, which has been installed on more than 1,000 commercial aircraft.
    Row 44’s service is supported by Hughes Network Systems’ satellites.