LOWER SERVICE LEVEL FAQ

Q: When will this service be available for use?
A: Service at 3000 feet above ground level (AGL) is available as of July 20 2020 on business aviation aircraft equipped with AVANCE L5 or L3.
 
Q: Will there be an additional cost for service at lower altitudes?
A: No. Gogo will not be charging any additional fee for reducing the service altitude.
 
Q: How much additional connectivity time will lowering service level to 3,000 feet AGL provide?
A: Through testing on hundreds of flights, Gogo discovered that enabling connectivity down to 3,000 feet AGL provides, on average, up to an additional 15-20 minutes of connectivity time.
 
Q: What do I need to do to take advantage of the lower service level?
A: You will need to reset your onboard LRU twice to allow for the remote, over-the-air configuration to take effect. That’s it. If you have any questions or are unsure of how to proceed you can contact Gogo customer support on +1 303.301.3278 or at bacustomerservice@gogoair.com
 
Q: Is there anything I need to do to my onboard system to enable it or will it automatically happen?
A: You just need to reset your onboard LRU twice to allow for the update to take effect. That’s it, thanks to the power of AVANCE we are able to remotely configure your system for you.
 
Q: Do I need to opt-in and make a request to receive service at lower altitudes?
A: No, the update will occur automatically after the onboard LRU is reset twice. Remote configuration took place on July 20th for all current AVANCE customers.
 
Q: What if I don’t want to receive service at altitudes below 10,000 feet AGL?
A: If you do not want to receive service at altitudes below 10,000 feet AGL you will need to opt-out of the remote configuration update. You can do this by contacting Gogo Customer Support on +1 303.301.3278 or at bacustomerservice@gogoair.com
 
Q: How do I opt-out of the update?
A: If you do not want to have connectivity down to 3,000 feet AGL, you can opt-out of the software update. You will need to contact customer support at bacustomerservice@gogoair.com or +1 303.301.3278 to request the change. You will then need to cycle power on your onboard LRU for the change to take effect.
 
Q: How will I know when I can begin to connect after takeoff? How will I know at what point the network is available, is there an alert or some other notification?
A: Users onboard the aircraft can use the Gogo DASH application to display available bearers and their connectivity status.
 
Q: Where does the service below 10,000 feet AGL perform well?
A: Gogo conducted hundreds of test flights on approximately 50 aircraft during the past four months and found that service down to 3,000 feet AGL will be available at most locations throughout the contiguous United States. While service above 3,000 feet AGL is available at most locations, it is not guaranteed to be available everywhere – and system performance may vary from airport to airport. 
 
Q: Where does service below 10,000 feet AGL not perform well?
A: There were very few locations where system performance below 10,000 feet AGL did not perform well. Geographic space of the towers may have an impact in some areas, and the usual network boundaries such as areas over the water and off the coasts that are outside our typical network coverage still apply.
 
Q: Are there any locations where service below 10,000 feet AGL is not available?
A: Service was available at most locations throughout the contiguous United States, but it was not available everywhere. Performance may vary from airport to airport.

Note: While service above 3,000 feet AGL is available at most locations, it is not guaranteed to be available everywhere – and system performance may vary from airport to airport.
 
Q: Will the connectivity experience and speeds be the same as customers experience today above 10,000 feet AGL?
A: Gogo conducted hundreds of test flights on approximately 50 aircraft during the past four months and found that service down to 3,000 feet AGL was available and similar to service above 10,000 feet AGL at most locations throughout the contiguous United States.
 
Q: Will the service work the same everywhere?
A: System performance may vary from airport to airport, and service is not available everywhere. The customer experience location by location was similar across both the AVANCE L5 and L3 systems.
 
Q: Is Gogo making any guarantees about system/network performance below 10,000 feet AGL?
A: No. While service is available at most locations it is not available everywhere and system performance may vary from airport to airport. 
 
Q: What occurred for Gogo to decide to lower the service level?
A: Our engineers and network operations team identified this as an opportunity. There were three factors that came together, and were necessary, to make this possible:

1. Densification (the process of adding towers) of our ATG network since we originally launched in 2008 has provided additional capacity
2. The majority of Gogo’s commercial aircraft have migrated to satellite systems during the past four years resulting in increased available capacity on Gogo’s ATG network
3. Remote configuration capabilities of the Gogo AVANCE platform

Important Note: Inflight connectivity down to 3,000 feet AGL is available due to Gogo’s exclusive ownership of licensed spectrum network in the 850MHz range.

Q: Isn’t there an FAA and/or FCC mandate that prohibits customers from connecting and/or calling below 10,000 feet AGL?
A: No. There are no government requirements for any specific altitude before a connectivity session can begin on business or commercial aircraft.
 
Q: Can classic ATG customers take advantage of service below 10,000 feet AGL?
A: No. Customers must upgrade from a classic ATG system (ATG 1000, 2000, 4000, 5000, 8000) to either AVANCE L5 or L3 to be able to receive service below 10,000 feet AGL.
 
Q: Why is this service not available to classic ATG customers?
A: The service is only available on the AVANCE platform because AVANCE has remote software configuration capabilities which the classic ATG systems do not have.

Q: Does network performance vary between AVANCE L5 and L3 when connected below 10,000 feet AGL?
A: Through hundreds of test flights we found that both systems performed well at altitudes down to 3,000 feet AGL and performance was in line with the expected customer experience for each product.
 
Q: Is Gogo using both licensed and unlicensed spectrum to provide service below 10,000 feet AGL?
A: No. Inflight connectivity down to 3,000 feet AGL required Gogo to use the spectrum it owns in the 850 MHz range.

Q: Will Gogo 5G be available below 10,000 feet AGL when it launches?
A: Gogo’s 5G systems will support service below 10,000 feet AGL using the licensed portion of our spectrum via 4G. The system will seamlessly transition to the full Gogo 5G experience once available above 10,000 feet AGL.
 
Q: Will this service be available in Canada and Alaska as well?
A: Service is expected to be available on July 20 throughout the contiguous United States and parts of Alaska. There are no immediate plans for Canada.
 
Q: Why has Gogo chosen to lower the service altitude from 10,000 feet AGL to 3,000 feet AGL? 
A: Taking on board feedback from our customers and also opportunity identified by our engineers we felt the additional connectivity time would be hugely beneficial for our customers and allowed us to provide even greater value.