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Cell phones in the cabin

Finally the capability to use mobile telephones is being offered by an increasing number of airlines. We, the passengers have been clamouring for this for years in despair. This was a fight with too many dogs.  National aviation and communication regulatory authorities,  Industry  governing bodies,  manufacturers, air crew associations, telecommunications providers, you name it, and of course us, the customers. Eventually an acceptable model emerged for the enabling technology to go forward.

Each aircraft is equipped with a picocell. This is a low power cell phone tower operating within the cabin . This interfaces with the on board satellite communications links to interoperate with  the terrestrial  telecommunications networks and so process the call normally with full functionality.  That is actually very elegant and many enhancements are in the works for Wi-Fi internet access for example raising issues about VOIP and firewalls and the rest of it.
The main providers at the moment are OnAir (http://www.onair.aero) and AeroMobile (http://www.aeromobile.net). The rush is on….

This from aeromobile….
AeroMobile, the market leading in-flight mobile communications provider, has completed the certification of its system on the Boeing 777-300ER, its sixth aircraft type.
The AeroMobile system, which allows passengers to safely make and receive calls, text messages & GPRS data services whilst on board, in-flight, is now certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for use on six widebodied aircraft types.
In addition to the Boeing 777-300ER, it is certified for use and installed on Airbus A330s, A340-300s and Airbus A340-500s, together with Boeing 777-200 and 777-300 variant aircraft.
Launched only in March 2008, AeroMobile’s Avion award-winning system is already in full operation on 45 aircraft belonging both to launch customer Emirates Airline and Malaysian Airlines. During this time, AeroMobile has been used by more than 400,000 passengers.

Meantime the fight  goes on , this from the NYT.
Cellphone use on airplanes, it would seem, is on extended hold in the United States.
The national union representing flight attendants wants Congress to ban in-flight phone calls, and survey after survey of airline passengers shows strong opposition to allowing cellphones on planes.
So while domestic airlines rush to wire their cabins to provide in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity, there is no indication whether, or when, passengers in the United States might be able to make a cellphone call at 37,000 feet.
Foreign Airlines Ahead of US on Cellphone Use

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/technology/29phones.html