The European Commission has approved initial plans to allow mobile phone usage on planes, following six months of consultation by the European regulator. The first aircraft services could launch as early as next month. Operators, however, have been warned to keep costs down to a reasonable level. Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms commissioner said:
If customers receive unexpectedly high call charges on their phone bills, the service will not take-off
For mobile phones to be used on planes, small mobile phone base stations will need to be installed on the aircraft, called Picocells. These can be switched off during take off and landing. The base station creates a bubble in and around the aircraft. Calls are routed to the terrestrial networks via a satellite link. Additional spectrum has been allocated across Europe for this.
Initially only standard calling and texting will be allowed, but if proven to be successful, it wont be long before 3G data services will be offered.
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[Source: The UK Mobile Phone Blog]
