Avionics News October 2014 - 60

GOGO BUSINESS AVIATION
Continued from page 58

more	than	10	major	airlines.	Most	important	to	industry,	some	6,000	business	
aircraft	also	carry	them.
Meanwhile,	Gogo	Biz	is	fast	enough	to	
support	Internet	surfing	and	downloading	
email	with	attachments,	Gogo	said,	and	
connects	to	laptops,	tablets	and	smartphones	via	Wi-Fi.	In	fact,	Myers	said	one	
of	the	common	uses	is	streaming	music	
from	a	service	like	Pandora.	For	voice	
calls	not	using	a	smartphone	and	the	
Text	&	Talk	service,	Gogo	markets	the	
OnePhone	cabin	handset,	which	can	be	
hard-wired	or	wireless.	Two	simultaneous	
calls	are	supported.
But	how	does	it	do	all	that	without	satellites?	Gogo	Biz	uses	"an	exclusive	network	of	ground	wireless	towers	across	the	
continental	U.S.	and	portions	of	Alaska	
and	Canada."	In	fact,	the	company	ear-

60

avionics news

*

october

2014

lier	this	year	announced	it	had	finalized	
expanding	its	coverage	into	Canada's	
"most	populous	regions	and	flight	routes,	
with	seamless	service	on	cross-border	
flights."	No	additional	roaming	or	registration	fees	are	required.	As	in	the	U.S.,	
Gogo	Biz	uses	a	modified	version	of	the	
same	technology	cellphone	carriers	use	to	
provide	nationwide	mobile	coverage.
The	Gogo	Biz	hardware	comes	in	
three	basic	versions.	The	company's	
ATG	5000,	a	standard-size,	rack-mounted	
transceiver,	is	what	Gogo	recommends	
for	new	installations	to	connect	the	aircraft	to	the	service.	It	will	ring	the	register	
at	around	$100,000.	Two	antennas	and	
cabling	is	all	that's	necessary	for	basic	
installation.	In	addition	to	the	ATG	5000,	
hardware	options	include	the	ATG	4000,	
for	installations	alongside	an	Iridium	
satellite-based	Axxess	telecommunications	system,	or	the	ATG	2000,	which	is	
for	smaller	aircraft	or	when	limiting	the	

number	of	users	to	five	is	acceptable.	It's	
definitely	the	low-priced	spread,	coming	in	
at	around	$45,000,	but	offers	the	same	basic	
connectivity	as	the	other	hardware	options.
To	obtain	the	Gogo	Text	&	Talk	service,	
add	the	company's	cabin	telecommunications	router,	which	enables	airborne	Wi-Fi	
service	and	acts	as	a	hub	for	all	wired	handsets	in	the	aircraft.	That's	it	for	the	hardware	
and	installation;	purchasing	a	software-only	
key	enables	the	Text	&	Talk	service.

THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

But	how	can	a	passenger's	smartphone	
connect	to	the	Gogo	Biz	service	for	voice	
and	texts?	And	can	the	passenger	expect	
to	use	the	smartphone's	own	number	to	
make	and	receive	calls,	or	is	there	some	
kind	of	dual-number	kludge	necessary?	
To	use	the	Gogo	Text	&	Talk	service,	the	
smartphone	must	have	a	free	app	installed	
on	it,	which	is	available	from	the	usual	
suspects	for	Apple's	iOS	operating	system	
or	Google's	Android.	Install	the	app	to	
the	smartphone	while	still	on	the	ground.	
Once	the	aircraft	is	at	altitude	-	Gogo	
does	not	guarantee	service	below	10,000	
feet	above	ground	-	make	sure	the	device	
is	in	"airplane	mode,"	then	turn	on	its	
Wi-Fi	transceiver.	Run	the	app.	It's	that	
simple.	Your	smartphone	will	make	and	
receive	calls,	plus	send/receive	SMS	text	
messages,	using	its	own	number.
These	days,	smartphones	are	everywhere,	serving	as	a	personal	and	business	
communication	device	and	as	our	link	to	
the	rest	of	the	world.	New,	faster	devices	
are	being	introduced	almost	every	day,	
and	smartphones	and	tablets	are	forecast	
to	continue	supplanting	laptop	and	desktop	machines	to	get	online.	Thanks	to	
Gogo	Business	Aviation	and	the	company's	Text	&	Talk	service,	we're	no	longer	
limited	by	what	we	can	do	and	how	we	do	
it	when	airborne.	That's	progress,	no	matter	how	you	slice	it.
And	for	those	of	us	who	may	want	to	
revisit	the	"good	ol'	days"	when	climbing	aboard	a	business	aircraft	meant	
being	isolated	from	the	rest	of	the	world	
-	in	a	good	way	-	there's	always	the	
power	switch.	q
http://www.beckerusa.com
Avionics News October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News October 2014
