Gogo has announced they are now rolling out their next generation connectivity technology called ATG-4 on three airlines in the US. Delta Air Lines, US Airways and Virgin America will be the first of what are likely many airlines to adopt the technology over the coming months.
If you've taken a flight anywhere in the US during the last few years, you're likely familiar with Gogo, or Gogo Inflight Internet as they used to be called. Essentially the service is exactly what it sounds like - you pay a small fee to gain access to an in-flight broadband connection.
Gogo and similar services can help bored passengers with a net addiction pass the time on a long flight and it's even more important for business travelers that need to get some work done before reaching their destination.
ATG-4 is expected to increase data connection speeds for air travelers, effectively allowing more passengers to connect on a more consistent basis. Up until now, Gogo has used EV-DO Rev. A wireless technology which, while it gets the job done, isn't exactly very fast.
The new network uses speedier EV-DO Rev. B technology which will theoretically have a bandwidth ceiling of 9.8Mbps, or just over three times faster than the existing network. Rev. A air-to-ground service can hit theoretical speeds of 3.1Mbps, according to the company.
The faster service is currently installed on more than 25 domestic aircraft. American Airlines and United are among those that will be deploying ATG-4 technology on select planes in 2013.