Gogo buys competitor Satcom Direct
Gogo, which provides internet access for business jets, has now purchased its main competitor Satcom Direct, in order to provide a service that can better compete with Starlink.
Satcom Direct would get $375 million in cash and five million shares from Gogo under a deal announced Sept. 30, subject to regulatory approvals, and up to $225 million in extra payments tied to performance targets over the next four years, suggesting around $636 million in maximum total proceeds.
Gogo has historically dominated the small and midsize part of the business aviation market and connects about 7,000 planes, according to William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma, while Satcom Direct has a commanding market share for long-haul.
Combined, William Blair estimates the companies are providing Wi-Fi to around 8,200 of the 9,200 business jets that currently have connectivity — or nearly 90% of the market.
Gogo’s share price has dropped 70% since 2022 in the face of Starlink’s recent signing of numerous airline companies. The stock market obviously thinks Starlink is eventually going to capture the business jet customer as well. This deal will possibly allow Gogo to compete more effectively.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Gogo, which provides internet access for business jets, has now purchased its main competitor Satcom Direct, in order to provide a service that can better compete with Starlink.
Satcom Direct would get $375 million in cash and five million shares from Gogo under a deal announced Sept. 30, subject to regulatory approvals, and up to $225 million in extra payments tied to performance targets over the next four years, suggesting around $636 million in maximum total proceeds.
Gogo has historically dominated the small and midsize part of the business aviation market and connects about 7,000 planes, according to William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma, while Satcom Direct has a commanding market share for long-haul.
Combined, William Blair estimates the companies are providing Wi-Fi to around 8,200 of the 9,200 business jets that currently have connectivity — or nearly 90% of the market.
Gogo’s share price has dropped 70% since 2022 in the face of Starlink’s recent signing of numerous airline companies. The stock market obviously thinks Starlink is eventually going to capture the business jet customer as well. This deal will possibly allow Gogo to compete more effectively.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
related….
“DirecTV announced an agreement to buy the Dish satellite TV and Sling TV streaming business from EchoStar for a nominal fee of $1 in what the companies called a debt exchange transaction. DirecTV will take on $9.75 billion of Dish debt if the deal is completed. In a related transaction also announced today, private equity firm TPG plans to buy AT&T’s 70 percent stake in DirecTV. TPG already owns the other 30 percent of DirecTV.
Oof. That means monopoly pricing for anybody still paying for satellite TV programming. And, of course, the only channels worth watching anymore are all only available on the most expensive package!
Big D:
It’s going to get worse on a number of levels; Skydance just merged with Paramount. More and more free streaming stuff is going behind paywalls.
Not in an overly rural area but always subjected to monopolistic control until recently.
Had Dish for TV for some time, but it became very expensive, and I became too old to go up on the roof in the Winter and shovel the dish off. Seriously considered a Starlink but they (Frontier) just wired up our area with fiber-optic.
wayne,
It is my understanding that DirectTV offers both satellite and streaming delivery options. I do not know if Dish offers a streaming option, but if you have Internet access, DirectTV (or various other providers) may have something for you that would eliminate the need for a satellite dish.
Well, if I were FCC, I’d leave Elon/space alone and force all streaming content to be put on cable after 2 years and broadcast after 5.
Speaking of monopolies, if you had problems sending messages last night, it’s being blamed on this technology upgrade and transition of Verizon cell phone towers to public private partnership of vertical bridge. (Who already own 500,000 towers) A subsidiary of a larger global network.
The 6,339 towers are scattered across all 50 states and the District of Columbia in a $3.3 billion deal.
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/verizon-nears-deal-sell-towers-vertical-bridge-bloomberg-news-reports-2024-09-30/
This may affect freedom of speech as all communications are routed through foreign networks.
Also heard some commentators talking about star link providing service for those affected by the hurricane. The 40+ billion dollars spent by the government to provide rural America with Internet could’ve provided everyone with star link.
Max–
Saw that news about the cell-tower transaction. What could go wrong? (sarcasm)
If you told me the CCP owned all our cell-towers, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Are you familiar with a government agency called Firstnet?
Apparently, after 9-11 the Feds decided to ‘fix” emergency communications for 1st-responders. What could go wrong? (Sarcasm.)
AT&T has the major contract but everyone else is in on it, except Starlink.
ATT does the hardware, ViaSat has the contract for the satellite communication portion.
One Firstnet product from AT&T is a Compact-Rapid-Deployable Cell-on-Wheels (COW) these are sold to ‘first responders,’ and dig, they cost $79,000 each.
Don’t worry, if your little Fire Dept. doesn’t have the money, the government will give you a Grant, but you have to buy your own yearly ViaSat data-plan.
(Har– they recommend you “limit employee access to the data-portion” to “avoid excess data-usage charges from casual viewing of video content.” )
So, how many ” Starlink terminals could I buy for $79,000, and what would be my max monthly charge??
33 Thomas Street, New York
The Bizarre Windowless Skyscraper That Hears All
https://youtu.be/7Jp2wLldfiA