AT&T to Launch New In-Flight Wi-Fi Service

AT&T plans to launch a high-speed, 4G Long Term Evolution in-flight connectivity service for airlines. The company expects to launch as early as the later part of 2015 and support in-flight Wi-Fi and on-board entertainment.

Cockpit communications, maintenance operations and crew services will also be offered as separate solutions supported by the same network.  

Additional plans include building a new air-to-ground network in the continental United States, based on global 4G LTE standards, but without “material” additional capital expenditures.

The creation of the new air-to-ground network will not have any impact on the company’s previously-announced financial guidance.

That new service comes within a context of growing perceived demand for in-flight Wi-Fi access and likely new entrants beyond Gogo, Panasonic Avionics, Row 44, ViaSat and OnAir - with at least two additional expected competitors, should the Federal Communications Commission eventually allow secondary licensing of 14-GHz spectrum to provide such a service.

AT&T might have lots of reasons for believing it has an edge. Today, Gogo, one of the providers, uses about 180 cell towers to support its service.

Image via Shutterstock.

But Gogo only has 3 MHz of bandwidth to work with, and uses 3G (EV-DO) air interfaces. All potential users on an aircraft have to share the bandwidth. Those of you who use in-flight Wi-Fi, or have done so, know what it is like to share a single 3G connection.

AT&T plans to work with Honeywell to provide hardware and service capabilities to deliver the in-flight connectivity solution.

At least one additional factor could be at work. The FCC is considering licensing, on a secondary basis, about 500 MHz of spectrum that could be used to provide backhaul for air-to-ground communications.

The plan to use existing satellite frequencies first surfaced in 2011, when Qualcomm asked for permission to use the band for aircraft communications from about 150 ground stations within the United States, enabling on-board Internet access.