AT&T has announced plans to launch an in-flight connectivity service for airlines based on LTE. The service is scheduled for introduction in late 2015, and will provide broadband connections for in-flight WiFi and entertainment.
The system will also enable improved communication between the cockpit and the connected passengers, while the service could also provide coordination for crew services and maintenance information on the ground, for optimizing and monitoring the plane’s performance.
To deploy the service, AT&T intends to build an air-to-ground network in the continental United States, which uses global 4G standards in spectrum already owned by AT&T. It is not currently targeting a global deployment, although the same method could be used elsewhere if spectrum sharing or consolidation agreements can be negotiated.
AT&T will be operating two distinct networks, one on the ground and one comprised of a few hundred high-power transmitters that are pointed towards the clouds. The relays will be angled so as not to interfere with satellites.
The new service will compete with Gogo, the current market leader for in-flight internet ‘ and crucially the owner of all of the 800MHz air-to-ground licenses in the US, although AT&T has plenty of spectrum to try and reassign with regulatory approval.
Gogo stock fell by as much as 24% after the AT&T announcement. It currently uses a legacy 3G CDMA national network of 150 base-station transmitters for its in-flight service, based on Qualcomm’s EV-DO (Evolution ‘ Data Optimized) technology. The system only uses a 3MHz portion of the spectrum, which gives each plane a very limited bandwidth that is not suitable for handling large amounts of connections ‘ something that angers those customers who pay a lot to use a sub-par service, and has inspired a lot of noise on social media.
AT&T notes that Honeywell’s recent Wireless Connectivity Survey indicates that in-flight WiFi frustrates 90% of users due to inconsistent and slow connections. AT&T plans to work with Honeywell, itself a leader in aerospace industry leader to provide hardware and service capabilities to deliver the system.
But Gogo announced its 2Ku upgrade program on April 8th, which uses satellite links to provide up to 70Mbps to the plane. This means that connectivity will be available while below 10,000ft, something that is currently not an option. Bandwidth and speed will be improved.
Instead of using the old Gogo air to ground (ATG) system for the return link, 2Ku will eventually use 2 Ku-band satellite antennas. Previously, Gogo had launched a system that used a proprietary ground to orbit (GTO) relay for the data uplink, and used the old ATG relay for the much lower traffic-rate downlink. Now 2Ku will use satellite for both up and down. Gogo is part way through its upgrade program.
The satellite system has the potential to be deployed globally, as the 2Ku technology will function with any Ku-band satellite. This adds a level of redundancy to the service in case of failure and should also extend its range. Current satellite systems will fail if the plane strays too far from the array, but 2Ku has the potential to avoid this single-point failure issue.
Gogo also hopes to bring 2Ku to market in mid-2015, a quarter ahead of AT&T’s new system, with Japan Airlines being the first company set to trial the service.
Back in May 2013, the FCC set itself the target of freeing up spectrum for mobile broadband, proposing to bring 500MHz of the Ku band to auction – something that Qualcomm previously petitioned for on July 7th 2011, to build its Next-Gen AG network.
Qualcomm said its project could provide up to 300Gbps connections to airplanes, by using a network of North-facing time-division-duplexing cell towers which could serve all the aircraft in US airspace ‘ dividing the 300Gbps capacity by the number of planes and then number of passengers of course.
AT&T might want to take a similar approach to the Qualcomm model. Indeed, Qualcomm would most probably be happy to supply the necessary equipment to AT&T to do so, generating new revenues in the process.
Chief Strategy Officer at AT&T, John Stankey said that ‘everyone wants access to high-speed internet wherever they are, including at 35,000 feet. We are building on AT&T’s strengths to develop the new technology to enable reliable high speeds. We are truly mobilizing the sky.’
AT&T claims to have the most reliable 4G network in the US, with 116 million wireless subscribers and 16.5 million wireline broadband subscribers. It adds that it has invested $140 billion in its networks since 2008. It states that ‘AT&T does not expect additional capital expenditures required for this initiative to be material, nor will it have any impact on the company’s previously-announced financial guidance.’