Aircell's GSM 4G LTE Mobile Broadband

Aircell's GSM 4G LTE Mobile Broadband. The in-flight GoGo WiFi provider, Aircell, announced its intention to base its fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband network on Long Term Evolution (LTE), the emerging standard for advanced mobile broadband networks and services. Having pioneered the first commercial Inflight Internet service in North America, Aircell plans to deploy LTE to enable the next generation ultra-high bandwidth mobile services such as hi-definition and interactive TV and multi- player immersive gaming that passengers will come to expect.

As Aircell migrates toward full LTE deployment, planned network and technology developments will enable Aircell to serve North American airlines with state- of-the-art mobile broadband technology.

"The 4G market is still evolving but one thing is for sure, passengers will want the same mobile broadband services in the air that they have on the ground," stated Joe Cruz, CTO, Aircell. "Aircell's choice of LTE ensures that our network will continue to support the services customers demand today and in the future. With LTE, Aircell's Air-to-Ground (ATG) Inflight Internet technology is future-proofed."

Aircell has pioneered ATG technology to deliver its mobile broadband service, Gogo, to the airplane cabin. Using an exclusive FCC frequency license, CDMA Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Rev A protocol and network optimization and acceleration technology, Aircell is able to deliver an effective data rate of more than 12 Mbps peak to Gogo-equipped aircraft. By the end of 2009, further advances in existing technologies will enable Aircell to deliver a raw data rate of up to 22.7 Mbps to aircraft. By the beginning of 2011, Aircell expects to deploy its 4G LTE network, which will enable a throughput of up to 300 Mbps to aircraft.

Gogo turns a commercial airplane into a Wi-Fi hotspot, providing full Internet access - including Web, personal IM and email accounts and VPN access to corporate email and systems - to passengers with Wi-Fi enabled personal devices such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs.

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