After investing years and hundreds of millions of dollars into developing an air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity network aimed at rivaling industry leader Gogo, SmartSky Networks announced today that it has “ceased business operations effective August 16, 2024.” The company attributed the shutdown to a lack of additional financing in a statement posted on its website.
SmartSky’s service had promised faster connectivity than Gogo’s original ATG network. The network became operational at the end of 2021 and into early 2022, following years of delays as SmartSky built a network of towers across the U.S. Despite the setbacks, installations in turboprops and business jets began to increase as more supplemental type certificates were approved for SmartSky.
Using its patented “beamforming” technology, SmartSky claimed that each aircraft using the network would receive its own dedicated beam, seamlessly switching between beams to maintain high-speed bandwidth without sharing it with other aircraft.
In the statement, SmartSky reflected on its journey: “SmartSky was founded with a bold vision: to revolutionize aviation communications. We successfully built and operated a leading, high-performance nationwide air-to-ground network using unlicensed spectrum, made possible by innovative patented technology. Along the way, our team dedicated great energy and expertise, earning several prestigious industry awards. While our products were groundbreaking and we were growing our market share, we ultimately could not secure the necessary financing to continue our mission.
“We hope that SmartSky’s achievements have inspired others to dream big, push boundaries, and pursue transformative ideas to reshape the future.”