‘We all have the same goal’
Eight months after Gogo’s acquisition of Satcom Direct, we take the temperature of the bigger business with senior executive Dave Falberg. Words: Mike Stones
Working together: Combining Gogo Business Aviation and Satcom Direct has enabled the bigger business to better serve customers, says Gogo.
‘We all have the same goal’
Eight months after Gogo’s acquisition of Satcom Direct, we take the temperature of the bigger business with senior executive Dave Falberg. Words: Mike Stones
Working together: Combining Gogo Business Aviation and Satcom Direct has enabled the bigger business to better serve customers, says Gogo.
IT WAS A big deal. When Gogo acquired Satcom Direct last December, the connectivity specialist paid $375m in cash plus 5m shares of Gogo’s stock. There’s also the potential for additional payments of up to $225m based on achieving certain performance milestones. So, what progress has been made since the deal closed? Well placed to answer that question is Dave Falberg, senior vice president of international sales.
Falberg is a 20-year veteran of the aviation and communications industries. Before the acquisition, he played a key role in expanding Satcom Direct’s business across Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific, delivering satellite connectivity solutions to the business and government aviation sectors. Exploiting his previous experience, Falberg now serves as senior vice president, Sales – EMEA APAC.
It’s been a busy first half of the year, Falberg tells us. In March, Gogo revealed it had gained approval for the first EASA supplemental type certification (STC) for a fuselage mount installation of the Gogo Galileo HDX antenna. The STC was awarded to Atlas Air Service in cooperation with design organisation FTI, following installation on an Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft. This was the first STC approval for the low Earth orbit (LEO) antenna awarded by EASA. The first FAA STC approval for the HDX antenna followed in August when Trimec Aviation received an STC for Gulfstream G200 aircraft. It also represented the first approval of the fuselage mount installation of the compact electronically steered antenna, ESA, in North America.
Gogo now has 38 HDX STCs under contract, which have a total addressable market of 32,000 aircraft, according to the company. Plus, the company’s C-1 solution has received STC approval for 42 aircraft models, covering 70% of current air-to-ground (ATG) customers. Gogo’s C1 technology is designed for operators of legacy systems, such as the ATG 1000, 2000, 4000, or 5000, who need to prepare for Gogo’s transition to its new LTE system before May 2026 to maintain current connectivity services. For customers with Avance L3 hardware the new LTE technology will significantly improve aircraft connectivity by a 40% increase in performance and Avance L5 customers seeing a 10% increase, says the company.
Recently Gogo re-affirmed its commitment to introduce its delayed 5G services before the end of this year. The new service promises to significantly boost connectivity speeds and coverage compared with its current Avance L5 system.
In June, the company posted total second-quarter (Q2) revenue of $226m – up 121% compared with Q2 2024 and down 2% on Q1 2025. Total revenue rose 1% compared to Q2 2024 pro-forma revenue of $223.9m. Satcom Direct contributed revenue of $122.8m in Q2 2025, up on its revenues of $121.9m reported as a standalone company in Q2 last year.
The new business, enlarged by the acquisition of Satcom Direct last year, commands a wide range of technical expertise.
The new business, enlarged by the acquisition of Satcom Direct last year, commands a wide range of technical expertise.
Commenting in June, Chris Moore, CEO of Gogo said: “Our first half results demonstrate the strategic value and well-executed integration of the Satcom Direct-Gogo merger.” Gogo sees significant demand for broadband performance improvements in its markets and is well positioned to meet that demand as the company brings Gogo 5G and Galileo to market this year, Moore added.
Falberg picks up the theme of integrating the complementary businesses of Satcom Direct and Gogo. “Looking at the two businesses, pre-acquisition, Gogo was providing business aircraft, particularly in North America with air-to-ground services and developing a LEO solution for their customers that had yet to launch at that point,” he tells us. “Then you have Satcom Direct, which was focused on larger, medium to heavy jets using GEO satellite communications as its primary connectivity source, supported by a global customer service team.” Whereas Gogo, before the acquisition, was providing services more to the light and medium aircraft sector.
“When you actually put those together, and both having a laser-focused approach to customer service and how we deliver bespoke services through to our customers, there was very little crossover and a great complementary fit for both sets of customers.”
Both companies, serving their different market niches and their respective wrap around services were trying to achieve the same thing. “So that meant everything was in place – there really were a lot of synergies between the two businesses,” says Falberg.
Both companies also have complementary cultures, he adds. “Satcom Direct was a privately owned, entrepreneurial, fast-thinking, agile, business. Gogo is a very well-structured, disciplined, public business.”
But there certainly are more processes to follow – as required by a much larger organisation. “While there’s customer-first intention with every decision that we’re making, there are more guidelines that need to be followed,” Falberg explains. “But we’re trying to do that without losing that entrepreneurial and creative spirit, which made both businesses successful.”
Falberg reports no specific challenges following the acquisition. But he does acknowledge that bringing together two businesses that have worked in their separate ways with separate processes and working methods requires careful planning and execution.
Chris Moore, CEO, Gogo.
Gogo has reaffirmed its commitment to launching its delayed 5G services by the end of this year.
“What has proved encouraging is that everybody involved in those processes has the same goal,” he says. “It’s very much everyone is trying to work together. There’s no protective culture trying to safeguard what has gone before. We are all moving together within the new business structure.”
So, after Gogo’s acquisition of Satcom Direct and following Viasat’s acquisition of Inmarsat in May 2023, does Falberg think the business aircraft connectivity sector is set fair for a period of stability?
Perhaps not. He sees the rapid technological process as continuing to disrupt the connectivity market in the years up to 2030 and beyond. While Falberg does not predict unstable market conditions, he does think the market will demand increasingly innovative connectivity solutions. “The way in which technology is developing and the pace of change means that what is being developed today and delivered on aircraft needs to be modular in design,” he tells us. “It needs to be built for business aviation and it needs to be considerate of future technology changes and how that shifts.”
Instead of inheriting commercial aviation solutions and back engineering them for business aviation, both companies have always taken a ground-up approach to business aviation requirements – and designing solutions that future-proofs the investment, he says.
As an example, Falberg cites Gogo’s Galileo and Plane Simple terminals. Galileo is a global, high-speed, low-latency low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet service for business jets. It uses the Eutelsat OneWeb LEO satellite network to deliver in-office-like internet for activities such as streaming, video conferencing and web browsing, regardless of aircraft size or location, according to the company.
Plane Simple terminals refer to the Satcom Direct antenna series providing inflight connectivity services for business aviation that optimize GEO Ku- and Ka-band airtime. The Gogo portfolio also includes various hardware, software, and service packages that deliver internet, voice, and data connectivity to aircraft via multi-orbit, multi-band satellite networks and air-to-ground technology. Key offerings include the Avance software and hardware technology platforms, Plane Simple antennas, and services like Gogo Cloud and SkyTicket, catering to different aircraft sizes and operational needs with global coverage.
Dave Falberg, senior executive, Gogo
But with a range of competing offers in the in-flight connectivity market, what distinguishes Gogo’s service from its competitors? The company is the only multi-orbit, multi-band service provider in the business aviation industry, Falberg tells us.
“The expertise that we have across each of the different solutions – whether that’s the LEO solutions with Eutelsat OneWeb, or whether that’s GEO with Viasat or Intelsat or ATG through our North American tower network – all provide unique opportunities for customers to improve their experience on all the aircraft, and each of those are continuing to be developed, so it’s a safe investment,” he says.
To that, Falberg adds 24-7 support from experienced engineers without reliance on automated services. “The relationships and the connection that we have with customers and our personal nature of those relationships is really important to what we’re doing.”
That destination will be informed by how Gogo thinks it can deliver the best possible customer experience.
Another 10 STCs are being developed for Gogo FDX, the Gogo Galileo full-duplex antenna designed for larger business aircraft that provides high-speed performance for LEO satellite broadband services.
Falberg looks forward to a time when customers are less questioning of Gogo connectivity technology. “The prize for us is when Gogo is regarded as the pre-eminent provider, and we’re not even asked what the technology is that’s sitting behind our services,” says Falberg. “Everything is delivered and tied together in a nice way with our network partners, who do a fantastic job of investing and developing their networks to support customers’ use of Gogo products.”
In addition to improving in-flight connectivity aboard big aircraft, technical innovation will extend similar services to smaller aircraft. Owners and passengers on heavy jets, such as the big Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault or larger Embraer aircraft, expect full connectivity services. “But, at present, there isn’t that same expectation with the lighter jets – it’s an underserved area of the market,” says Falberg. “Now technology is enabling us to deliver improved connectivity for smaller aircraft – particularly as new models are deployed.”
But, after 20 years’ experience of aviation connectivity, Falberg knows there is only one group of people who will shape the evolution of in-flight connectivity products – whether from Gogo or its competitors.
“Ultimately customers have the choice which products they use. The two businesses coming together has created an opportunity for us to better serve customers who use in-flight connectivity on all sizes of business jets,” he concludes.
But with a range of competing offers in the in-flight connectivity market, what distinguishes Gogo’s service from its competitors? The company is the only multi-orbit, multi-band service provider in the business aviation industry, Falberg tells us.
“The expertise that we have across each of the different solutions – whether that’s the LEO solutions with Eutelsat OneWeb, or whether that’s GEO with Viasat or Intelsat or ATG through our North American tower network – all provide unique opportunities for customers to improve their experience on all the aircraft, and each of those are continuing to be developed, so it’s a safe investment,” he says.
To that, Falberg adds 24-7 support from experienced engineers without reliance on automated services. “The relationships and the connection that we have with customers and our personal nature of those relationships is really important to what we’re doing.”
That destination will be informed by how Gogo thinks it can deliver the best possible customer experience.
Another 10 STCs are being developed for Gogo FDX, the Gogo Galileo full-duplex antenna designed for larger business aircraft that provides high-speed performance for LEO satellite broadband services.
Dave Falberg, senior executive, Gogo
Falberg looks forward to a time when customers are less questioning of Gogo connectivity technology. “The prize for us is when Gogo is regarded as the pre-eminent provider, and we’re not even asked what the technology is that’s sitting behind our services,” says Falberg. “Everything is delivered and tied together in a nice way with our network partners, who do a fantastic job of investing and developing their networks to support customers’ use of Gogo products.”
In addition to improving in-flight connectivity aboard big aircraft, technical innovation will extend similar services to smaller aircraft. Owners and passengers on heavy jets, such as the big Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault or larger Embraer aircraft, expect full connectivity services. “But, at present, there isn’t that same expectation with the lighter jets – it’s an underserved area of the market,” says Falberg. “Now technology is enabling us to deliver improved connectivity for smaller aircraft – particularly as new models are deployed.”
But, after 20 years’ experience of aviation connectivity, Falberg knows there is only one group of people who will shape the evolution of in-flight connectivity products – whether from Gogo or its competitors.
“Ultimately customers have the choice which products they use. The two businesses coming together has created an opportunity for us to better serve customers who use in-flight connectivity on all sizes of business jets,” he concludes.
