Quick stat: In 2019, video accounted for over 60% of the world’s total internet data consumption.

As business aviation returns to the skies, many aircraft operators are taking a fresh look at ways to update and upgrade their aircraft. After all, whether you fly a turboprop or jet, your aircraft is a business tool: so, whatever you can do to improve the value of your inflight experience, the better your investment.

And when it comes to upgrades, connectivity is a hot topic.

But before you deep dive into Googling “inflight connectivity systems”, maybe it’s time to first ask yourself this question: “In 2020, what do people really want to do with their inflight Wi-Fi?”

The answer may be a lot different than you’d expect.

Let’s take a look at the past 10 years – from 2010 (the year Gogo launched the ATG 5000 system) to 2020 – to explore how peoples’ use of Wi-Fi has altered dramatically. As most everyone has experienced in our daily lives, everything is faster, more visual, more “right now” and much more data intensive.
 
Case in point: We don’t read the paper; we watch it. We don’t carry DVDs or a music player; we binge stream episodes and playlists. We don’t just “call in” to meetings, we join with a full video and audio experience. Even work projects are cloud stored and sometimes entirely inaccessible when you’re not connected.

And this reality is the same in the air as it is on the ground. In fact, for business aviation, the need for smarter, more powerful, “future-ready” technology is amplified because the stakes are higher for every hour of an executive’s time.
 
With that said, here’s a quick “then and now” to help you see just how much the world of Wi-Fi has changed – so you can make sure your aircraft is ready for it.

DEVICES: FROM PRIMITIVE COMMS TO POWERFUL TOOLS 

Quick stat: Explosive growth of monthly mobile data usage

• Smartphone data usage per month has grown from 269 Megabytes to 5.1 GIGABYTES

People love their mobile phones. That was true in 2010 and remains true 10 years later. What's different, though, is how people are using their phones. Then it was calls, basic email, texting and calendars. Now we use our phones like mini-laptops and pro-caliber photo and studios. All of which generates a lot of data, which we then send to social sites and cloud storage.

2010

• Apple iPhone 4 / BlackBerry Torch / Samsung Epic.
• 8 mega pixel cameras are the smartphone norm.
• The first iPad came out and it was Wi-Fi only - no data plans!
• Windows 7 is the latest PC operating system.

2020

• Apple iPhone 11Pro / Samsung Galaxy S10 / Google Pixel 4.
• There are 5.11 billion unique mobile users in the world
• 144.1 tablets shipped worldwide.
• 4K video (including) recording on both phones and tablets.

WEBSITES: VIDEO KILLED THE READER STAR 

Quick stat: Amazon pushes Prime

• In 2010, Amazon was pushing the Kindle hard and books were still its top-billed category. Now, Amazon doesn't even think people read books anymore and mostly pushes Prime Video.

Look beyond the obvious redesigns and buzz words like "mobile friendly" and you'll see that nearly all modern websites cater to our desire for rich experiences: from live sports and news, to video reports over written articles.

2010

• AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace dominate online connections.
• Facebook and YouTube were only 2 years old (and Facebook was still exclusive to college students).

2020

• YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest are the hub of social networking and exhibit the growing use of video and HD imagery.
• People spend on average 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day. Half of that is spent on mobile devices.
• Google Chrome is by far the most dominant browser on earth.

VIRTUAL BUSINESS: HOW WE WORK IN A MOBILE WORLD

Quick stat: Video conferencing connects remote workforces

• 94% of businesses say video conferencing increases productivity.
• 87% of employees not physically present for a meeting report feeling better engaged with colleagues through video 

Whether it's the booming freelance industry or business as usual for executive travelers, technology is finally enabling people to truly be remote yet stay in touch like they're still in the office. But behind the scenes, it takes a lot of high-speed connections and data to make that possible.

2010

• VPN is a rarity.
• Thumb and external drives save our data.
• Email is the primary business communication tool.

2020

• VPN usage quadruples.
• iCloud, GoogleDrive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox.
• Email + WebEx, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom enable instant collaboration and on-demand work environments.
• 68% of video calls take place on mobile devices.

ENTERTAINMENT: STREAMING IS KING. GAMING IS HUGE (LITERALLY).

Quick stat: Streaming music wants to be a billionaire

• YouTube revealed that “more than 1 billion music fans come to YouTube each month to be part of music culture and discover new music.”

It'll come as no surprise that the world -- both in the air and on the ground -- has gone fully digital in how we want to spend our fun time. And it goes without saying that a few hours of streaming uses up tons more data than reading a paperback.

2010

• Netflix is still mostly a DVD-by-mail company.
• Instagram debuts in app store.
• Spotify wasn’t available in the U.S. and Amazon Prime Video didn’t exist.
• Nintendo Wii is on many wish-lists.

2020

• There are 508.44 million streaming video subscribers. By 2024 it will reach almost 950 million.
• Streaming music has 304.9 million global subscribers.
• Netflix originals have won 8 Academy Awards from 54 nominations.
• Disney+ reached 28.6 million streaming subscribers just 4 months after launch.
• Gaming consoles go mobile (think Nintendo switch).

Added stat: How much data does online gaming use? 

When it comes to gaming, there's a wide range of gaming types that will consume vastly different amounts of internet data usage. But one thing is certain, gaming gobbles up a lot of data. So even if a connectivity provider promises that you can game during flight, you may not be happy with how much this kind of entertainment costs you.

Online gaming can use 3MB - 300MB/hour:

• Hearthstone: 3MB/hour
• Fortnite: 100MB/hour
• Call of Duty: Black Ops: 80MB/hour
• Destiny 2: 300MB/hour

2020 AND BEYOND: HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR INFLIGHT EXPERIENCE FOR THE MODERN WORLD.

Well, there it is. A clear case that Wi-Fi users – inflight as well as on the ground – are connecting to their personal and professional lives in vastly different ways than they did just 10 years ago. This piece is a perfect example of that transformation – you’re likely reading it online on a laptop, tablet or phone.
 
For business aviation operators, this then begs the question: How do I make sure my inflight Wi-Fi has enough firepower to satisfy everyone’s needs both today and tomorrow?
 
The answer is to change the way you look at connectivity.

Consider the Gogo AVANCE connectivity platform. It has quickly become Gogo’s fastest adopted connectivity solution in their long history. Why? Because rather than being a traditional LRU, Gogo AVANCE is a single technology engine that gives aircraft operators a way to digitally improve their entire inflight connectivity and entertainment experience (IFEC) to meet modern demands and have the flexibility to quickly adapt for the future. And that’s not just fast internet in the cabin. It enables immersive entertainment experiences (including 3D moving maps). It opens new data possibilities for the cockpit. It unlocks remote and cloud-based services and support. It can “call home” for fixes and updates just like an iPhone or Tesla car can.

So, while the world is being transformed by smartphones, smart cars, smart homes, and smart cities: solutions like Gogo AVANCE now make it possible for business aviation to be transformed by truly smart airplanes.

Sources:

https://www.lifesize.com/en/video-conferencing-blog/video-conferencing-…
https://musically.com/2020/02/19/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music…
https://www.businessinsider.com/homepages-then-now-decade-changes-websi…
https://www.sandvine.com/inthenews/netflix-falls-to-second-place-in-glo…
https://getvoip.com/blog/2019/02/28/video-conferencing-2019/
https://wearesocial.com/blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-a…