Mobile Business? Now even on the plane…
by Marino Bresciani
Recently, the British regulator in charge of air travel has approved cellphones for use on airline flights, reports the BBC. Airlines will be allowed to activate base stations in the plane’s tail after takeoff, creating a zone of mobile coverage around the plane.
Also, ‘The services could stop working once aircraft leave European airspace. Initially, only second generation networks will be offered but growing interest would mean that third generation, or 3G, services would follow later, said Ofcom. The cost of making a mobile phone call from a plane will be higher than making one from the ground.
This is not the first time we finally hear about use of mobile in aircrafts. Already one year ago, the low-cost company Ryanair announced the introduction , aiming to become the first to allow passengers to use mobiles. By the way, it looks like now Ryanair has had its plans held up by nearly year because of problems getting approval from certain national regulators. OnAir has also had problems getting approval for a system adapted to Ryanair’s aircraft.
Anyhow, at the moment, most of the interested airlines (including AirFrance and British Airways) are in deals with in-flight communications experts OnAir to fit the latest mobile satellite technology on their planes from next summer. Callers will pay the same rates as international roaming charges.
Custom SMS services on a plane can be definitely a possibility, then. 
Ideas are still on the way, though.