Gogo Business Aviation has received FAA STC and parts manufacturer approval (PMA) for its 5G antenna, keeping its on-budget plan to launch Gogo 5G air-to-ground service in the second half of this year, according to company president Sergio Aguirre. “Receiving the STC and PMA marks the next important milestone in the development of Gogo 5G,” he added.
Duncan Aviation completed the STC for the multi-band 5G antenna mounted on the belly of the MRO provider’s Cessna Citation XLS. Lincoln, Nebraska-based Duncan also is working on the first-article STC for the onboard 5G system.
In addition, the Colorado-based broadband connectivity provider’s authorized dealers and OEM partners are working to develop STCs for Gogo 5G on more than 30 business aircraft models. Gogo 5G is expected to deliver about 25 Mbps on average, with peak speeds in the range of 75 to 80 Mbps, and is designed for data-heavy interactive uses such as videoconferencing.
The system uses frequencies between 2.423 and 2.475 GHz, not the C-Band spectrum (3.7- to 3.98-GHz range) being employed for 5G service by terrestrial wireless carriers that potentially could interfere with aircraft radio altimeters.
