Above: The new modem will be fitted to all new 2Ku orders, and retrofitted on more than 450 aircraft
August 2, 2017 – Aviation broadband connectivity specialist, Gogo, has announced that its next-generation modem has been introduced into commercial airline service. According to the company, the proprietary features of the new modem will “significantly increase throughput” from the satellite to end-users on the aircraft.
The modem is claimed to be capable of delivering more than 16-times the throughput of Gogo’s existing modem, which offers scope to support the increased capacity of next-generation high-throughput satellites as they come online. The modem includes dual channels to simultaneously support internet traffic and broadcast IPTV, as well as faster and more sophisticated processing that enables much shorter hand-offs from one satellite to the next.
“We are always looking at new innovations in each component of our connectivity solutions,” said Anand Chari, Gogo’s chief technology officer. “This new modem greatly improves the performance of our industry leading 2Ku solution, as well as our Ku solution, and is forward compatible with new HTS satellite constellations. This modem helps us future proof our in-flight connectivity solutions.”
The new model of modem will be retrofitted on more than 450 aircraft on which Gogo’s 2Ku or Ku systems are installed through a ‘plug and play’ installation process. In addition, the 2Ku systems to be installed on Gogo’s backlog of more than 1,400 aircraft will include the new modem.