Industry Responds to FCC's Continuing Cell-Phone Prohibition

Several companies around the world say the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to continue prohibiting in-flight cell-phone usage over the U.S. didn't close the door on in-flight Internet access, and they intend to exploit that opportunity.  AeroMobile, meanwhile, suggested that the FCC's rationale of insufficient data was wrong.

Karen Hanley, senior marketing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, which represents about 300 companies, told informationweek.com that she expects Wi-Fi access will be available in aircraft.  While she couldn't give any timetable for its introduction, Ms. Hanley indicated that demand by the public coupled with improvements in wireless technology will likely spur its development, probably by using a combination of satellite and terrestrial tower-based cell-phone technology.

U.S.-based AirCell, which has spectrum that could be used to provide Wi-Fi service on aircraft, has been planning an American coast-to-coast ground network that would be available to all domestic airline carriers in early 2008. Wireless devices that use the 802.11b or 802.11g Wi-Fi standards would work with the service.

Meanwhile in Europe, where trials of wireless service for mobile phone users have been underway for several months, OnAir has asked European regulators to exempt its cell phone service from spectrum licensing and says the European Commission has viewed its request favorably so far.

Neither AirCell nor OnAir has addressed the FCC's decision publicly so far, however.

AeroMobile's Response

AeroMobile said in a statement that the FCC's decision doesn't affect its business plans, because it had expected the U.S. market for in-flight cell phone use would open later, after the service becomes commonplace in other parts of the world.

The ARINC and Telenor partnership notes it has received considerable interest in its services from airlines globally (including some in the U.S.), and has already received regulatory approvals for operation of its system in the airspace of 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

AeroMobile also points out that the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) published a European-wide decision on December 1, 2006, that allows the safe use of in flight mobile phones on specially equipped aircraft that don't interfere with ground communications networks.

According to AeroMobile, the CEPT report demonstrates that using mobile phones on an aircraft equipped with a pico cell system - such as the AeroMobile system - causes no harmful interference to ground networks when operating above 3000 meters (10,000 feet). AeroMobile says its pico cell system doesn't interfere with aircraft systems or ground networks because it ensures that the transmission power of all mobile phones on the aircraft is either controlled to operate at the absolute minimum power level, or de-activated.

This would mean that passengers would only be able to use their phones on pico cell equipped aircraft above 10,000 feet, but most cruise phases are, of course, above that altitude.

The FCC said it closed its current review because of a lack of data on whether the use of cell phones onboard will interfere with networks on the ground.  AeroMobile argues that in fact significant data is available, and this has been recognized by the CEPT through their decision.  04-09-2007.

Click here to become a registered Flt Tech Online subscriber and receive headlines delivered to your e-mail each week

Click here to go back to the headlines