Ofcom a UK regulator, has given approval for using cell phones on airplanes flying in European airspace and has released plans that will allow airlines to offer mobile services on UK-registered aircrafts.
The cost of making a cell phone call from an air plane will be higher than making one from the ground. Cell phones can be used on air planes that have reached at least 3,000 meters. However, airlines looking to offer this service must still satisfy other regulators about how the hardware will be used.
The decision to offer in flight cell phone services now falls to individual airlines which must over-come other regulatory hurdles before the technology is considered to be fully approved.
The European Aviation Safety Agency would have to approve all hardware that would be installed in an aircraft to ensure that it did not interfere with other flight systems. Additionally, airlines would have to develop operating procedures to ensure that the cabin-crew is trained in the proper use of the systems.
This is how the system would work: The plan is to install small mobile phone base stations, called pico cells, in aircraft that will be switched on after take-off. The base station generates a bubble of coverage in and around the aircraft. Calls made via the pico cell will be routed to terrestrial networks via satellite link. Across Europe radio spectrum has been set aside for the technology. The services could stop working once aircraft leave European airspace.
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