Gogo Business Aviation, a broadband services company, said it will launch the first global broadband service in business aviation to use an electronically steered antenna, or ESA, on a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.
The company, which made the announcement Monday during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE 2022) hosted by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in Geneva, Switzerland, says its antenna, designed with Hughes Network Systems LLC, will be small enough to be installed on the airplane’s fuselage for a range of business aircraft “from super light jets and large turboprops to ultralong-range jets.”
The Gogo system will operate on a global high-speed broadband network developed by OneWeb, a London-based communications company.
“This will be a fast and affordable broadband system that will provide best-in-class global performance on the broadest range of aircraft in business aviation,” said Sergio Aguirre, Gogo’s president and chief operating officer. “We want to give everyone in business aviation the ability to have an exceptional broadband experience regardless of where they fly, or what size aircraft they fly.”
The company says the OneWeb network will deliver performance comparable to terrestrial broadband services, allowing multiple users to conduct video conferences, access the cloud, watch live TV, streaming video and more.
Gogo says OneWeb’s LEO constellation is fully funded and will consist of 648 satellites, 428 of which have been launched. The company says its broadband service will be available soon after OneWeb’s satellite network is complete.
