Airbus has signed an MoU with Gogo Business Aviation to further develop ACJ Connect Link for ACJ customers on the backdrop of its recent launch of Airbus’ SFE connectivity solution. As part of the agreement, Gogo Galileo will provide its HDX/FDX antenna, modem and router, for retrofit installation in customer aircraft.
Gogo’s latest electronically -steerable phased array antenna technology featured in its new HDX and FDX solutions is more compact than existing Ka-band antennae and fits into a smaller, flatter radome. This will help to minimize the aircraft’s overall weight and drag. For ACJ Connect Link, Gogo’s FDX option, which is full duplex, would offer up to 195 Mbps download and 32 Mbps upload while Gogo’s smaller-footprint HDX half-duplex option would offer up to 60 Mbps download and 11 Mbps upload capability. Either antenna is suitable for all the ACJ models.
Once ACJ Connect Link becomes operational in 2025, operators will benefit from Eutelsat-OneWeb’s ‘Low-Earth-Orbit’ (LEO) constellation of more than 640 satellites. Compared with typical ‘GEostationary Orbit’ (GEO) based satellite networks, this LEO-based network, whose satellites orbit much closer to the earth, would offer higher speed and lower latency, combined with global coverage.
Calling this a major milestone in Gogo’s connectivity journey, Chris Moore, chief executive, Gogo is proud to work with Airbus to elevate and enrich its connectivity offering. “With the Gogo Galileo solution, Airbus ACJ operators have immediate access to global, low latency broadband service to support full connectivity capability and redundancy. Passengers will be able to emulate their digital life on the ground in the air,” Chris adds.
Airbus aims to offer its Airbus ACJ to operators and business leaders with the highest standard connectivity solutions and customer support and Gogo perfectly fits the bill. “This will allow them to be in the right place at the right time, connected and ready to act. Moreover, we are confident that Gogo presents a compelling solution with its cutting-edge technology, backed by a global team of industry experts,” says Chadi Saade, President of Airbus Corporate Jets
Overall, passengers on board ACJs equipped with ACJ Connect Link will enjoy richer and more productive content such as streaming high-definition movies and live TV or video conferencing and all this on more connected devices simultaneously.
Airbus will provide ACJ Connect Link to its customers as a fully certified STC Service Bulletin and kit, tailored for each specific aircraft type in its range of Single-Aisle and Widebody ACJ platforms.
