Whether using the aircraft as a business tool or as an ultra-secure method of personal travel, private aircraft passengers expect the ability to stay “virtually” connected to the ground. Gogo Business Aviation, which has been providing inflight internet services for more than 25 years, plans to launch its Gogo 5G network in 2021, enhancing the inflight internet experience to nearly mirror the speed and latency a passenger would expect at home.

"We expect to launch Gogo 5G at the same time as the terrestrial telecommunications companies are deploying the same generation of technology on the ground – a first in the inflight connectivity industry," said Oakleigh Thorne, CEO of Gogo. "Gogo 5G is the next step in our technology evolution and is expected to deliver an unparalleled user experience, pairing high performance with low latency and network-wide redundancy."

What is 5G?

Generically speaking, “5G” stands for the fifth generation of cellular network technology. The earliest wireless phone communications used analog signals (1G). Switching to digital instituted 2G, which also included encryption and limited data services such as text messaging. Mobile broadband (3G) allowed basic internet access, photo sharing, and limited video use. 4G brought refined mobile broadband for more dependable internet access and video streaming; Long Term Evolution (LTE) is often associated with 4G, but not always compliant with it. 5G provides enhanced cellular performance to enable simultaneous connections at faster speeds.

“5G is more than an incremental upgrade,” said Mike Schnepf, senior director of network engineering at Gogo. “Gogo 5G will represent a dramatic increase in system performance. It will change how passengers do business and spend their time in the air.”

For example, under 4G, streaming video is possible but there may be limitations depending on the service and the amount of bandwidth being consumed by others in the cabin. Using Gogo 5G, streaming won’t be nearly as constrained as 5G will accommodate a much higher number of passengers connecting simultaneously. Flight and business apps no longer would need to be updated on the ground; almost anything can be updated at any time during flight using the Gogo 5G system.

Adherence to 3GPP Standards

The Gogo 5G network is being built with adherence to the 3rd Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) standards. Gogo is using a 5G chipset in its modem design, a 5G standalone network core, beamforming antennas, and massive multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) technologies.

Established in December 1998, 3GPP sets global standards for the wireless communications industry. Seven telecommunications organizations and about 700 telecom companies worldwide comprise the 3GPP, which holds more than 140 meetings per year to discuss these standards.

“Up through 4G, we were looking at the mobile network as something that serves the consumer holding the smartphone,” said Georg Mayer, 3GPP Technical Specification Group Services and Architecture chair.  “Of course, we had some other applications, but the focus was on the smartphone user, and that made mobile communications very successful. With 5G, it’s a whole new game. We’re not just looking at the smartphone users—who will get more bandwidth, speed, coverage and more reliable service—but we want to connect and enable whole industries that aren’t in the telecommunications industry who want to use 5G services.”

Mayer posed examples of self-driving cars, agriculture, manufacturing, and various transportation industries that can all benefit from 5G, including aviation.

“We’re trying to get all of these industries on board to gather information about what they need from [5G] to best serve their requirements,” said Mayer. “It’s a very good time for people who are interested in influencing the standards to come forward and work with 3GPP. We’re looking for people to give us background about their industry so we can create the technologies that will enable them.”

Understanding 5G Terms

5G has several goals:  high throughput of 1-20 Gbps, ultra-low latency, 1000x bandwidth per unit area, massive connectivity, high availability, dense coverage, and low energy consumption. What does all of this mean to the business aviation consumer?

Throughput refers to how much data can be transferred in a given amount of time; essentially the network speed measured in megabytes (Mb) or gigabytes (Gb) per second.

Latency refers to the round trip time (RTT) required for a packet of data to travel between two points, with the ideal latency being as close to zero as possible. High network latency increases page loading time, can interrupt video and audio streams, and render some applications unusable.

Bandwidth measures how much data can be sent over a specific connection in a given amount of time. Essentially this equates to how many large files, such as streaming video or applications, can be uploading or downloading at the same time.

“Gogo 5G represents a substantial technological advancement for inflight internet connectivity and remains a top priority for Gogo,” said Trent Welander, senior product marketing manager at Gogo. “Though still early in development, we expect that Gogo 5G will perform at levels that are 10 times faster than many of our ATG systems that are flying today.  That type of performance gain is why we continue to invest in Gogo 5G despite the recent economic challenges associated with COVID-19.  We believe Gogo 5G will transform how business and entertainment are experienced in the air.”   

The Gogo 5G network will support licensed, shared and unlicensed spectrum types. Licensed means that portion of the radio spectrum licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to specific users. Using a licensed spectrum allows greater reliability due to a limited number of users on that particular frequency; but the frequency of some unlicensed (open to the public) spectrums allow signals to travel greater distances.

“Gogo will continue to employ its licensed 3G and 4G 850MHz networks, which will ensure optimal coverage and throughput,” said Welander. “These networks provide more than just redundancy in the most congested airspace.  Through ‘channel bonding’ Gogo 5G will deliver an aggregated signal of both the licensed 850MHz and unlicensed 2.4GHz spectrum simultaneously.  It’s a key competitive advantage that only Gogo can provide and it equates to more bandwidth to the aircraft and a stronger network.”

5G on the Ground and In the Air

Gogo’s 5G capability is being built on its current network of 250 towers in North America. This provides built-in redundancy and lower latency than satellite networks at a lower price point. For terrestrial telecommunications companies to provide coverage across the contiguous United States, they will need to install thousands of cell towers. 

 “There’s a lot of conversation in the media today regarding the build out of ground-based 5G networks from the large telecom providers like Verizon and T-Mobile/Sprint,” said Welander. “These networks will be similar to Gogo 5G in that they adhere to 3GPP standards, but differ immensely relative to the scope of the infrastructure and technology required.”

Welander says the big difference between 5G “in the air” and “on the ground” involves the technology required to connect to an aircraft traveling at high speeds. Gogo will use beamforming and beam steering techniques that transmit data through targeted beams to specific devices to deliver a more direct signal to a fast-traveling aircraft, as opposed to a wide signal that loses strength over distance. This creates a better connection with less interference.

 Also, the Gogo 5G receivers will contain technology to compensate for high-speed Doppler shift, allowing communication with an aircraft traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. 

“Both [Gogo 5G and the 5G offered by the terrestrial telecoms] are true 5G, but they operate differently out of necessity and present unique challenges to their respective industries,” said Welander.