If it were easy, everybody would be doing it Gogo CEO, Chris Moore, details the complexity of innovation as its 5G air-to-ground service nears entry into service.

Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks in the classic movie 'A League of Their Own', famously quoted, “It's supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.”

The statement emphasizes that the difficulty of a task is what gives it value. It separates those who are truly dedicated from the rest.

As we near the end of our 5G air-to-ground (ATG) journey, we have a clear understanding of what he meant. Innovation isn’t easy, yet Gogo has demonstrated its commitment to improving and updating it air-to-ground connectivity service over the contiguous United States since launch in 2008.

The Gogo 5G tower network is ready to go.

We are nearing the completion of the final phases of terrestrial testing for our next-generation 5G air-to-ground (ATG) technology. So far, the results show that the 5G chip meets and exceeds anticipated performance speeds and network performance models, confirming that Gogo is one step closer to delivering never-before-seen ATG speeds to North American customers operating in the CONUS region. When the service is activated, customers subscribing to the new network will receive reliable and cost-effective broadband connectivity that emulates the digital capabilities of at-home and office environments.

The final validation of the system is on wing. While it sounds straightforward enough, this will be the final part of the complex 5G journey before we begin to connect customers in Q1 2026. The backstory behind this significant technological step forward and the path to introducing the 5G experience is incredibly complicated. As the appetite for data to support more applications on more types of devices has evolved, we modernized the tower network to support 3G and, more recently, 4G technologies. However, we knew that the only way to keep pace with connectivity requirements and meet our customers’ expanding digital needs was through an ambitious upgrade project to 5G cellular technology.

With the network nearing service, we acknowledge that we have faced technical challenges and, yes, we can’t deny it, unexpected delays along the way. Supply chain issues during and post-COVID-19, as well as the subsequent demands on electronics manufacturers, and the ability to source raw material stocks, all presented challenges.

The Gogo 5G air to ground network covers the CONUS area.

Yet we didn’t give up, and on 17th June 2025, we completed the very first end-to-end call using our next-generation 5G technology. The 5G microchip is smaller than a thumbnail and comprises some 74 layers of silicon and metal. Each silicon wafer undergoes approximately a thousand processes over a three-month period. At the end of production, each wafer is covered in hundreds of CPU chips – each containing billions of nanoscopic transistors and an impossibly complex 3D maze of wires. It’s an incredibly complex process to create this small processor for our 5G LRU product. Yet, it was successfully integrated with our hardware and software to enable the industry's first call. The chip is now being integrated into the ‘aircard’ that sits at the heart of our 5G boxes.

The diminutive processor is just one part of a much bigger picture. The Gogo ATG tower network is already 5G ready, with 170 towers spanning the USA and southern Canada. We hold all the necessary approvals for our 5G aircraft antennas, and the integration of a new ‘5G core’ into our data center is complete. We are holding multiple chips at our facility and have completed most of the testing on the associated AVANCE LX5 line-replaceable units (LRUs), also known as the 5G ‘boxes’, using our 4G chip. A brief flight test campaign in October is the next step towards final approvals later in 2025. Our dealer network is working on STCs, and some customers are already just a minor update away from enjoying the higher speeds and greater bandwidth of 5G. When those aircraft connect, we will celebrate the culmination of an effort far greater than simply building a new chip.

Terrestrial testing validates Gogo 5G functionality.

For our existing customers, we have made the process of upgrading their Gogo system to 5G as simple as possible. At most, they’ll need a new box and antennas. In fact, more recent installations require only the box. For those installing Gogo ATG for the first time, we’ve kept the hardware needed to a minimum. And, of course, everything is built to aviation standards and comes with the reassurance of our expert 24/7/365 support. For international customers regularly flying in the North Americas, the 5G ATG service offers further redundancy to existing solutions. It supports our mission to provide multi-orbit, multi-band options, ensuring always-on connectivity.

“With these outcomes, we’re resetting expectations around former ATG performance and are excited that we will be delivering a high-speed service that delivers the same type of experience you’d expect from an internet service at home or in the office,” says Chris Moore, CEO of Gogo. “By validating the actual equipment and software that will be installed on the aircraft, alongside the 5G ground tower network, we are showing that customers can expect high-speed broadband from service activation.” Once terrestrial testing is complete, flight testing is expected to begin in early Q4.

At Gogo, we chose 5G as our goal, and we’ve tackled a variety of challenges on our way to achieving it. Yes, delivering the future is ‘hard’, but we are close to making the next great leap in cellular technology as our 5G mission comes to fruition.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 9th October 2025 | Issue #814