Only six passengers at a time will be able to use the system, which the airline says is intended "for use in exceptional situations." Passengers will be able to send text messages, make a call or access email on mobile devices.
Initially, the service, on Airbus A330-300 planes which utilize a satellite connection, will only be available for customers of European cell phone providers O2 and Vodafone and U.S. carrier T-Mobile. The new system - basically akin to a roving, airborne cell tower - features picocell technology provided by AeroMobile, and the vendor states that it doesn’t interfere with aircraft avionics.
(currently within 250 miles of US airspace it is not allowed to make a cell call) There was no comment from the NSA, NORAD, CIA, the FBI, the Secret Service or any other government agency including the White House on how those mysterious in-air cell phone calls were supposedly made on September 11th, 2001 when it was considered by experts as impossible to do so at that time.
There was no comment from United Airlines either, who lost Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after numerous passengers allegedly made cell phone* calls while being hijacked, including the infamous Mark Bingham call to his mother.
ET, call home.
*not to be confused with airphone calls.
check out previous posts -
from Sunday, July 15, 2007, commenting on the Maritz Research company study about cell phone use in midflight becoming available soon - http://caterwauls.blogspot.ca/2007/07/cellphone-study-er-revelation.html
and from Monday, April 07, 2008, commenting on Air France's announcement of starting trials of voice calls in midflight on an Airbus A318 - http://caterwauls.blogspot.ca/2008/04/new-cellphones-in-aircraft-in-flight.html
