Gogo announced today that its upgraded Gogo Biz 4G airborne connectivity system will be available for the business aviation market in early 2017. The company’s 4G air-to-ground service has been implemented in airlines since 2012. Gogo Biz 4G “represents a significant increase in capability when compared to existing solutions,” according to Gogo. "This is a system designed and tailored specifically for the business aviation market."

Thus, Gogo Biz will allow streaming video and audio, email with attachments, web browsing, voice calling and VPN support. The existing Gogo Biz air-to-ground service offers peak speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps, while the 4G service reportedly runs at up to peak speeds of 9.8 Mbps. Owners of existing Gogo Biz systems who want to install the 4G equipment will be offered “loyalty programs with significant trade-in incentives,” according to Gogo. And the company plans to make installation kits available earlier to help owners plan for the upgrade during upcoming scheduled maintenance events.

The 4G system includes dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi “and a host of other features” in a single box. After launch of 4G service for the business aviation market, Gogo also plans to continue selling the existing Gogo Biz systems. Coverage for the existing and 4G Gogo Biz services is provided over the Continental U.S. and portions of Alaska and Canada.