Gogo Business Aviation's 5G programme continues to gain momentum, passing another critical milestone with the new Avance LX5 receiving supplemental type certification and parts manufacturer approval from the FAA.

"Receiving formal approval from the FAA to produce and manufacture the Avance LX5 line replaceable unit (LRU) reaffirms our commitment to Gogo 5G as we march toward our launch date," says president Sergio Aguirre. "We built LX5 on the Avance platform as a smaller, single-box option to make the installation of Gogo 5G even easier for customers."

The first-article STC for the onboard 5G system was completed by Duncan Aviation's engineering and certifications services team on a Citation Excel aircraft. Gogo's dealer network and OEM partners are actively pursuing multiple STCs that will certify the system for installation across a variety of business aircraft models. Once the 5G chip is available, a minor STC modification will be required before customer installations of the LX5 can begin.

Gogo 5G is expected to provide ~25 Mbps on average, with peak speeds in the 75-80 Mbps range, outperforming any competitive geosynchronous satellite or air-to-ground solution. Intentionally engineered to deliver high throughput with very low latency for multiple users, Gogo 5G will meet the increased demand for data-heavy services and applications being used today and those coming in the future.

The LX5 was designed with the same form factor and same connections as the L5 to help streamline installation. Customers can pre-provision for Gogo 5G today by installing the multi-band (MB13) 5G antennas and an Avance L5 LRU. The L5 system will operate on the Gogo Biz 4G network until Gogo 5G launches, which is expected in the third quarter of 2024. At that time, they will be eligible to receive a free LX5 to swap with their existing L5 LRU.