Aircell’s Vision Brings Hollywood To Airplanes

Aircell unveiled Gogo Vision, an entertainment service that runs on Aircell’s new UCS 5000 router and delivers on-demand movies, television shows and flight information to any device in the cabin. Operators that install Gogo Vision will be able to update content wirelessly via Aircell’s new Gogo Cloud service, which will be available at FBOs such as launch provider Signature Flight Support.

What makes Gogo Vision work is Aircell’s new smart router and media server, the $29,000 UCS 5000. Working in concert with Gogo Cloud, the UCS 5000 eliminates the need for pilots and passengers to load movies onto the airplane or onto personal devices before takeoff.

When the Gogo Vision/UCS 5000-equipped airplane taxies to within wireless reception of a Gogo Cloud location, new content is automatically uploaded to the UCS 5000. The onboard media service can store up to 200 movies.

Gogo Cloud services begin on January 1 at Washington-Dulles, Orlando International and Las Vegas McCarran airports, and another 15 Signature locations will go live by the end of 2014. Flight departments can also buy equipment to become Gogo Cloud-capable. Gogo Vision updates can also be done manually, using a USB drive. Aircell hasn’t released Gogo Vision prices yet, but these will include a monthly fee and a per-movie charge.