50 IFEC ‘Gosh, there’s more than 10 people on the plane who want to use it – we’re stuff ed.’” Gogo’s Small dismisses such arguments. Next year, Gogo plans to switch on ATG-4, which will be faster and off er more bandwidth over ATG yet require only “modest change” to ATG-equipped aircraft. TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP ATG-4 is part of Gogo’s planned portfolio of solutions to accommodate diff erent aircraft sizes, and thus bandwidth and speed requirements. “I suspect regional jets are happy with our ATG technology. A 737 might go to ATG-4, and maybe a 757 or 767 that fl ies over the US with a lot of passengers might add Ka to supplement the ATG-4,” says Small. Indeed, Ka is fi rmly on Gogo’s technology roadmap; London-based Inmarsat recently selected Gogo as a partner to bring Inmarsat’s Ka-supported Global Xpress aeronautical service to the commercial market. Airbus/SITA joint venture OnAir was also picked to distribute Global Xpress. Until Ka rolls out, Aircell is willing to off er Ku as a bridging solution to airlines, but Small does not recommend it. “It costs three times as much to install, it takes longer, it weighs more and bandwidth costs are more expensive than ATG,” he says. “Avoid Ku if you possibly can.” For international fl ights, he advises airlines to wait for Ka and in the interim emphasise to passengers the embedded IFE systems typically off ered on international aircraft. For Southwest, which is equipping its fl eet with Row 44’s Ku, the carrier has straddled wanting a solution and yearning for speed. Marketing manager Angela Vargo says Southwest’s contract with Row 44 gives it ATG’s deployment-ready status with a Ka-like connection, and an added bonus: a portal. Like JetBlue, Southwest says owning the product and being able to set prices and promotions “is very key for us”. It plans to fi nish fi tting its 737-700s with Ku by 2013 and later determine the timetable for its other 737 variants. But it is not talking about the connectivity future of Gogo-equipped AirTran, which it acquired last year. Vargo says Southwest has not run into any FEBRUARY <strong>2012</strong> FUTURE PROOF Airlines are having to decide whether to install connectivity systems that meet today’s demand or tomorrow’s bandwidth-availability problems, but is also not looking to cut back. “I don’t think in this world you can have too much bandwidth,” she says. Th e carrier is keeping an eye on Ka’s development. And its partner Row 44 is studying an upgrade path. “We don’t ever want to put our customers in a position to not be forward upgradeable,” says Row 44 chief commercial offi cer, Howard Lefkowitz. “[Our platform] is future compatible in the event the future comes to bat. For airlines that care about their market share, you don’t want to give yourself dial-up access. You also don’t want to wait for the future thing that may or may not happen.” A new portal, being developed by Row 44, will be rolled out by Southwest. “It’s extremely important,” Vargo says of the portal, which will be branded and include “robust entertainment options”, ways to relay messages to passengers, advertising and e-commerce opportunities that Southwest expects will contribute to overall revenues, though it declines to say by how much. INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE Outside the United States – which does not permit the infl ight use of cell phones – mobile connectivity currently dominates the landscape, though Ku providers Row 44 and Panasonic have made inroads. SITA/Airbus joint venture OnAir has secured a laundry list of customers for its infl ight GSM service, which operates via Inmarsat’s L-band-based SwiftBroadband aeronautical service. “When individuals have the choice, 95 per cent of passengers use the GSM network,” says OnAir CEO Ian Dawkins, who highlights the rising infl uence of mobiles. “We’re seeing something that’s just beginning and going to explode over the next fi ve years.” “I don’t think in this world you can have too much bandwidth” ANGELA VARGO MARKETING MANAGER SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
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