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Inmarsat welcomes Ofcom decision
Inmarsat, a mobile satellite services provider, Wednesday welcomed Ofcom's decision to allow airlines to offer mobile communications services on U.K.-registered aircraft.
The U.K. company said it is the only satellite operator currently supporting inflight use of passengers' GSM mobile phones, Blackberrys, PDAs and text messaging services.
Its constellation of ten geostationary satellites links the caller, via picocell technology onboard the plane, into the ground network and onto the relevant landline or cellular operator.
The announcement from Ofcom comes just days after the world's first authorised inflight mobile phone call on a commercial flight. The call, made on an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai to Casablanca on March 20, was sent over the Inmarsat network using AeroMobile's inflight solution.
AeroMobile is also working with Qantas, which recently completed successful trials of inflight text and email connectivity; the Australian airline has announced its intention to install the service on a number of domestic service aircraft by the end of the year, Inmarsat said.
Inmarsat also provides the connectivity for OnAir, the Geneva-based inflight communications provider. Using their system, Air France is offering text messaging and email access to international passengers as part of a six-month trial.
Ryanair has also announced its intention to fit the OnAir system on its fleet of aircraft, Inmarsat said.
Passenger connectivity is controlled by the cabin crew, who can switch the system on or off, enabling quiet times, or permit text-only messaging. Calls are billed via the passenger's service provider, the company said.
Inmarsat already provides inflight communications for government and private aircraft users, and its services are a safety requirement on all long-haul aircraft, so much of the required infrastructure for inflight mobile phone use is already in place.
Source:
http://www.totaltele.com/View.aspx?ID=9611&t=1
