Gogo’s test plane, the Jimmy Ray. Photo: Gogo.

Gogo announced it has conducted its first successful test flight and has begun the nationwide rollout of its new regional Air-to-Ground (ATG) in-flight network called ATG-NG. According to Gogo, the ATG-NG network combined with the company’s proprietary aero antenna, in-cabin network and software platform will bring up to 30 times more bandwidth to an aircraft than its original ATG solution. Once the network upgrades are complete, Gogo expects to have a North American ATG solution that will deliver performance on the aircraft that is comparable to its 2Ku global satellite solution.

The ATG-NG network will have peak capacity of more than 100 Gbps, Gogo stated. ATG-NG uses unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4 GHz spectrum band as well as the licensed spectrum from Gogo’s original ATG network to provide greater bandwidth and reliability. It also leverages Gogo’s existing ATG network backhaul and infrastructure of more than 250 cell towers. On the aircraft, Gogo has developed a new antenna and modem that will produce peak speeds of more than 100 Mbps per aircraft.

According to Gogo, the solution will be ideal for business aviation aircraft, commercial regional jets and select mainline aircraft operating in the United States. For business aviation aircraft, this service will be available as an upgrade to aircraft already equipped with Gogo’s Avance L5 connectivity solution. For commercial aviation, any aircraft outfitted with equipment designed to leverage Gogo’s first generation ATG network will need to be outfitted with a new modem and blade antenna to take advantage of the new service. The network will be available in 2018, Gogo said.