"kevincw01" wrote:
>At 30,000ft, I don't think there's much of a chance that the cell is
>going to reach the 200ft cell tower. Maybe during landing/takeoff but
>at that point, you aren't moving through too many cell towers to cause
>much a problem. I heard about the pico cell proposition. They use
>them in hong kong and tokyo in the sky scrapers that are so tall you no
>longer get reception from the ground towers. However, I don't
>beleive they'll ever make it to market for airplanes. Right now, many
>long distance flights have(or are in the midst of
>purchasing/installing) in-flight wifi. Soon the equipment cost will be
>low enough for the national flights. Skype anyone?
10 km is not very far, less than the distance to many cells you are
probably using today outside major metro areas. How many cells do you
think there are along I15 to Las Vegas? There are no obstructions to
an aircraft, not like hills and buildings on the ground.
Pico cells have already been successfully tested on actual flights.
If and when the sociological objections are overcome, they may become
standard equipment. Equipment costs are not the domestic airline issue;
the airlines just don't have any money.
Connexion by Boeing, the only serious in-flight wifi provider today,
has already been used for Skype, in fact quite frequently. Further, it
has been used for video conferencing to the ground. A simple search
will show many blogs reporting results.
I suspect the thing that will really do in the pico cell idea is VoIP
on wifi. Some airlines think they'll be able to sell pico cell usage
at a premium price, separate from the wifi charge. There may be a short
term market for that, but it won't be long before many cell phones will
be able to use wifi in addition to GSM/CDMA. At that point, the pico
cell will be just weight the airlines can do without.
--
Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA +1 714 434 7359
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree,
is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals.
We cause accidents. -- Nathaniel Borenstein
