Quantas Trial of SMS and GPRS in the Air
Written by martyndavies on Apr 20, 2007 - 08:05 PM
The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) have authorized a trial, with one Quantas plane to be equipped for in-flight SMS and GPRS on domestic routes.
Voice calls will be disabled, only allowing SMS and push-data services via GPRS. Blackberry users in Australia will be able to get their email even 10km up in the air.
The on-plane unit, called an NCU, communicates via satellite to a GPRS node on the ground. Passengers will roam on the flying NCU, which will then connect back to their home GSM network for billing.
Given that GPRS can also carry VoIP traffic, it's unclear whether they plan to explicitly block or disrupt VoIP over GPRS traffic, or whether limited bandwidth and satellite delays will make VoIP unusable anyway. In any case, cabin staff will have control of the service and will be able to switch it off if necessary.
"Hello Darling, I'm on the plane..."
UPDATE: Silicon.com report that Ryanair and Air France also want to offer the technology. Low cost airline Jetblue want to offer "silent options", but in the USA the FCC has only recently said "no" once again.
| Quote: |
| ‘The granting of permissions for the evaluation service is the culmination of many months of work aimed at facilitating an industry need,' said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman. |
Voice calls will be disabled, only allowing SMS and push-data services via GPRS. Blackberry users in Australia will be able to get their email even 10km up in the air.
The on-plane unit, called an NCU, communicates via satellite to a GPRS node on the ground. Passengers will roam on the flying NCU, which will then connect back to their home GSM network for billing.
Given that GPRS can also carry VoIP traffic, it's unclear whether they plan to explicitly block or disrupt VoIP over GPRS traffic, or whether limited bandwidth and satellite delays will make VoIP unusable anyway. In any case, cabin staff will have control of the service and will be able to switch it off if necessary.
"Hello Darling, I'm on the plane..."
UPDATE: Silicon.com report that Ryanair and Air France also want to offer the technology. Low cost airline Jetblue want to offer "silent options", but in the USA the FCC has only recently said "no" once again.
Reply from martyndavies on Dec 23, 2007 - 03:51 PM
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