If you’re one of those people who can’t stand to be disconnected from devices even for short periods, there’s some good news for you if you’re flying on regional planes with Gogo WiFi on board.
The wireless carrier has made changes in its hardware and software so that instead of waiting until the plane gets to 10,000 feet, you’ll now be able to connect at 3,000 feet, and keep the connection until the plane dips below 3,000 again on arrival. On the regional jets using Gogo’s original ATG (Air to Ground) system, there’s no signal too close to the ground because antennas on the belly of the plane communicate with ground-based cell towers.
That means adding 15 to 20 minutes of connected time per flight, and since 25% of flights on regional jets are an hour or less, that’s a big boost. The issue is different for mainline jets; nearly all of them now use Gogo’s 2Ku service which relies on satellites rather than terrestrial antennas. With that service, it’s possible to get gate-to-gate connections.
