by Eric Palmatier

Created on: March 02, 2007   Last Updated: May 10, 2007

There is much confusion concerning the use of cellular devices on commercial aircraft. As of yet, I have not seen the most reasonable explanation as to why these devices are restricted.

First, a careful examination of an airline's in-flight magazine will show that at no time does the airline officially blame interference for the restriction. Mostly likely, federal regulation will be cited. Aircraft systems and wiring are heavily shielded from RFI (radio frequency interference), and are also more likely to have interference from atmospheric radiation than most low-power electronic devices.

Next, if one researches the aeronautical telephony industry, one will discover an industry on it's deathbed. The system was never a very profitable venture. Most of the former GTE services (which were later re-branded Verizon due to the merger of GTE with others to form that company) are now shut down, and many airlines have removed these devices from their aircraft.

Removing interference and financial aspects from this situation leads one to wonder exactly what the problem is. Really, the problem is that cellular phones were never intended to travel at 500 MPH.

Cellular systems employ a system of towers over a geographic region known as "cells." Each cell has a particular capacity for calls depending on the way the cell was built by the actual carrier. As a cellular device travels from one cell to another, a process known as "handshaking" is used to seamlessly transfer the call from one cell to another without dropping the call. While the process is very fast, the time it takes for the system to get to the point of switching cells is not, at least in a technological sense. Each tower, each cell, might cover a 30 mile radius around the tower. Towers overlap to facilitate handshaking. So, as a cellular phone travels between towers a lot of background implementation is at work.

Move the travel speed of the cellular device from 35 to 75 MPH to 500 to 600 MPH, and you have a whole new way of handshaking. As soon as a bordering cell is ready to switch the call from the old cell, the phone is now in range of another cell, requiring new handshaking. In essence, your phone is moving much too fast for the cellular system to accommodate the movement between cell sites.

Add to that your relative distance from the tower - a tower which is intended for land-based communications and is not as strong vertically as it is diagonally or horizontally, with poor line-of-sight radiation of the transmitters, and you have signal issues unlike any you see on the ground.

The average cellular device might fly over hundreds or thousands of sites in a hour-long journey. Realistically, your phone, as well as the cellular system, just cannot handle your call. Physics are working against you.

The reader should do a web search for the newer air-to-land wireless technologies currently being considered by the FCC and respective industries involved. New technology that works with the aircraft traveler rather than against the traveler could be in place within the next few years.

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