North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical RE: How do I log on while in flight?
I seem to recall a program on the Discovery Channel [ ;Pp ] where cellphone, FM/AM radio, walkman and CD player emitted radiation possibly could interfere with some old equipment on old aircraft (ie probably precautionary rather than real risk) .. I forget the detail but on an affected plane it did sound fairly nasty! Think it was a similar thing in hospitals.. ? Steve </trivia> On Thu, 27 Jun 2002, Leigh Anne Chisholm wrote: > > The FCC prohibits communication using a cellular telephone while in an > aircraft in US airspace. In Canada, I don't believe there is such a > regulation. > > >From doing research on this topic earlier this year, I came across news > articles that say that several aircraft manufacturers have tested the use of > cellular telephones on aircraft systems and found no effects whatsoever. So > why the FCC ruling? > > Likely it's because of the design of the cellular network - which from what I > understand, is far more dense in the US than it is in Canada (which might be > why the CRTC doesn't have such a prohibition). The problem is what happens > when a cellular device is based above the cellular system antennae - there is > an ability to connect to multiple systems simultaneously, and that's something > the system wasn't designed to see happen. Additionally, there's the hand-off > factor, of the negotiation process of what happens when you leave the range of > one cellular tower and enter the range of another. In an aircraft, that > happens at a rate greater than would be if the cellular phone were used in a > car - so again, there's a problem there. The Airphone system found on > commercial aircraft was designed to overcome these limitations - which is why > they CAN be used onboard commercial aircraft systems. > > So, besides it being illegal, you run the risk of taking down your service > provider's cellular network - and from what I've heard, this doesn't make them > very happy. > > In summary - don't do it. > > > -- Leigh Anne Chisholm > Network Engineer > Applied Design Networks > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of > > Scott Weeks > > Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 2:11 PM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: How do I log on while in flight? > > > > I was wondering if any of y'all could give me pointers to services I could > > use to log into a network during flight on a private airplane. For example > > a person is in flight cross-country and needs to do a videoconference, > > send email from his network to interested parties, or any of the normal > > things we do from the ground. Is this possible or would it interfere with > > the plane's other systems? > > > > scott > >
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