Faster Gogo In-Flight Wi-Fi Coming, but Not Soon Enough for Frequent Fliers

Inflight Wi-Fi provider Gogo said Monday it has received regulatory approval for a new technology that promises 20 times the bandwidth of its current service.

Anyone who has used Gogo’s often poky in-the-air Wi-Fi service knows that any increase in speed can’t come soon enough. However, the newly approved technology can’t simply be accomplished with the flip of a switch. It requires that an entirely new type of hardware be added to planes.

Gogo is putting the so-called 2Ku equipment on its own test plane this week and plans to make the first commercial launch later this year, though most of the pending upgrades won’t start until 2016.

About 500 aircraft from seven airlines are in line to get the new technology, but it will take some time to get to each of them and Gogo says the exact schedule will be up to the airlines. Delta is the main U.S. airline pledging to adopt the new technology, though United is also adding it to five planes.

“We believe this will be the best performing technology for the global commercial aviation market, bar none,” Gogo Chief Technology Officer Anand Chari said in a statement. “Clearing this regulatory hurdle brings us one step closer to enabling our airline partners and their passengers to enjoy the future of in-flight Internet.”

For now, Gogo has been managing the excess of demand for its limited bandwidth by raising prices. It is now common to see prices topping $30 for a cross-country flight if you sign up on the plane. (Pro tip: It’s half that price if you buy a day pass before you take off.) The company also prohibits the use of streaming video services, such as Netflix and Hulu, though frequent users say the service can be slow for even basic Web browsing when many people are using it.

AT&T had briefly expressed interest last year in entering the market, but abandoned those plans before launching.

Gogo Puts the Two in 2Ku from gogo on Vimeo.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via