Aircell to Broaden Inflight Internet Connections

Inflight connectivity provider Aircell has unveiled a technology roadmap for further improving the links from the aircraft to Internet. The service provider has developed technology that expands the capabilities of its widely deployed Gogo inflight Internet service beyond the continental U.S.

 In addition to Aircell's existing and highly successful Air-to-Ground  (ATG (News - Alert)) technology, the company will enable connectivity via a next generation version of ATG ("ATG-4") as well as Ka-band satellite technology. These technology options will be selectable at the aircraft or fleet level and enable attractive solutions for every airline, aircraft and mission, said Aircell.

.“Between business and commercial aviation, there are currently more than 6,000 Aircell-equipped aircraft across ATG and satellite technology platforms," said Michael Small, President and CEO of Aircell, in a statement. "We're thrilled to be the only inflight connectivity provider that can meet our partners' full fleet needs in the United States today.  With this announcement we strengthen our offerings domestically and begin to extend our leadership globally," added Small.

The suite of technologies powering Gogo Inflight Internet will consist of Air-to-Ground (ATG), and Ka-band satellite. Aircell said that ATG-4 is scheduled for commercial delivery in the first half of 2012. Also, this new platform is backward compatible and allows for upgrades to existing ATG systems through low cost retrofits, said the service provider.

Likewise, Aircell's Ka-band satellite technology will provide additional capacity to supplement what is available through ATG, ATG-4 and current generation satellite technology, as well as enable Gogo service beyond the continental United States (CONUS).  Based on satellite launch and antenna development schedules, Aircell expects its Ka-band technology to be available for CONUS in 2013 and globally by 2015.  Aircell expects many aircrafts to take advantage of its unique and proprietary ability to integrate air-to-ground solutions with satellite solutions for better performance, enhanced features and higher reliability.

According to Aircell, it's technology roadmap allows commercial airlines to select the technology that best suits particular aircraft at a particular time, and to easily upgrade from one Aircell platform to another. In addition, all Aircell network technologies will utilize its enormous advantage in proprietary "know how" (including over 30 U.S. and international patents for its inflight connectivity solutions), and will leverage its world-class systems for technical monitoring and support, customer care and billing.

In the business aviation market, Aircell currently offers three different inflight technologies, including Iridium Satellite, Inmarsat (News - Alert) SwiftBroadband (satellite) and Gogo Biz (ATG).