It will only be available as premium messaging serves via "international roaming".
So you can expect to pay a premium price.
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So, as a lot of you have probably heard, one of the last place you simply can't use a mobile phone on is looking set to disappear:
Qantas to trial in-flight mobile phone use. 18/04/2007. ABC News Online
About Qantas - Newsroom
No calls yet, just SMS and email, but if it works out then I'm sure they'll start allowing calls as well. Guess it was inevitable, but now it won't just be the bus and train with too loud callers sharing their personal conversations with others.
There's no mention of surcharges though, which came as a surprise for me, I always thought one of the major reasons the airlines had held off on phones in flight was so they could figure out a way to charge extra for it.
It will only be available as premium messaging serves via "international roaming".
So you can expect to pay a premium price.
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Last edited by serfty; 20th April 2007 at 12:35 PM.
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In the US the FCC have confirmed that they will not allow mobile use on planes. There is a thread here somewhere about that and there is also a thread on Emirates plans to introduce allowing phones on flights.
I personally would love sms and email (via blackberry) on flights - if i want peace I can turn them off. I understand other people's reluctance for phones on planes. I have other refuges from phones - on my bike cycling, walking the dogs, in bed and I spend more time doing all of those than flying.
S
I saw an article posted recently that detailed the QF service.
One of the interesting things is that the aircraft will have several 'Jammers' installed through the cabin(s) to prevent any commication with Oz based ground stations; thus preventing voice calls or 'cheap' SMS.
Last edited by serfty; 20th April 2007 at 12:43 PM.
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That is weird, I would have thought they could have just changed a setting in the base station to tell it to reject any attempt at a voice call.
I've edited my post; the jammers actually prevent all ground station communications.
I'll try to find the information I saw ....
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I wonder if the "installation of jammers" is just a convenient way of calming the fears of some PAX that they will be surrounded by phone calls and in fact the jammers are a complex technology that marketing doesnt understand (lack of actual understanding of how the technology works demonstrated below):
Marketing: So how will we stop people making calls
IT: Well we will set the base station on the aircraft to route all traffic through a series of ports that verify whether the type of traffic is voice or data.
M: Wait - there is going to be a base station on the plane? Is that like one of those aerials they they disguise as trees? People dont like those and dont they cause radiation?
IT: No it a lot smaller
M: But it still cause radiation and wont this routing casue delays - the premium pax wont like that either
IT: It will be quick to verify
M: But someone is checking each message. Doesnt that violate rivacy rules (unlike our spam emails of course)
IT: Ok change of plan we will install jammers on the planes - you know like they have on some trains
M: You see that's what I thought we should use in teh first place....
According to a CASA representative who was interviewed on ABC Radio (Brisbane) yesterday, the satellite ground station for this service is in Norway. So that certainly we involve premium charges to communicate with someone who may be 10km away (well, 10km below you).Originally Posted by serfty
NM aka Nelly Mobbs
Here's the information posted on Flyer Talk: Qantas keeps it head low in the news latelyOriginally Posted by serfty
Originally Posted by THD (on FT)
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So premium pax might be able to do everythingOriginally Posted by serfty
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