Gogo Plans Boost of United Airlines In-Flight Internet Speeds

By Doug Lung
published

In-flight connectivity company Gogo announced last week that it has extended its contract with United Airlines and will work with the company in upgrading United's "Premium Service" (p.s.) fleet with Gogo's EV-DO Rev. B-based ATG-4 technology. This will increase the current performance from 3.1 Mbps to 9.8 Mbps. ATG-4 uses dual modems and directional antennas to increase speed.

"Passengers on board United’s p.s. fleet have long enjoyed Gogo’s in-flight Internet service and these routes have grown to be some of the most popular routes for connectivity related services," said Michael Small, Gogo's president and CEO. "By upgrading to ATG-4, Gogo will be able to better address the growing demand for Internet access on these flights now and in the future."

Installation of the new equipment will begin in early 2013.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.