AT&T Cancels Plan To Build In-flight Internet Service To Compete With Gogo

Just six months after AT&T announced it would soon begin work to build a network to offer high-speed in-flight WiFi, the wireless carrier say it’s abandoning those plans.

Bloomberg reports that AT&T is scrapping its plans for the 4G LTE wireless internet access on commercial flights to conserve its cash-flow while expanding elsewhere.

The service was a partnership with Honeywell International Inc. and was to be introduced as early as late 2015.

The change in course comes as AT&T cuts back on it looks to trim its budget for the next year, Bloomberg reports.

“After a thorough review of our investment portfolio, the company decided to no longer pursue entry into the Inflight Connectivity industry,” a spokesman for AT&T said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We are focusing our capital on transformative investments, such as international and video.”

AT&T’s exit from the in-flight WiFi market puts the market quite securely back with Gogo Inc.

The company currently services 80% of all wired commercial aircraft in the United States with its cellular network-based technology.

Gogo is working on a satellite-based system that can provide speeds of up to 70 megabits per second, much faster than its current service of 9.8 mbps for the current air-to-ground service.

AT&T Cancels Plans to Offer In-Flight Wi-Fi Access [Bloomberg]

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