This past summer, the company carried out tests, together with American Airlines, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the satellite-based air-to-ground cellular service.
The successful test demonstrated in-cabin voice communications using commercially available CDMA mobile phones and an in-flight third-generation (3G) 'picocell' network. "During the flight, we were able to support about 10 calls, as well as SMS text messages," Qualcomm Israel's Boaz Bryger was quoted in an Israeli publication. .
"We tried every combination - incoming and outgoing, from mobile to mobile, land to mobile, etc... The voice quality was good, and the system was stable." Bryger directs engineering at the company's Israel headquarters and headed the engineering team that was in charge of the project.
Qualcomm's "pico-cell" technology consists of a laptop computer sized Base Station System which acts as a cellular antenna within the aircraft. The pico-cell then beams the voice-data via satellite to the ground networks. Essentially it is an IP-based wireless access network.
According to USA Today, developers believe that travelers will use their cell phones while in the air if they are charged less than a dollar a minute. Customers would pay by entering their credit card numbers upon placing a call, or may just have the charges added to their monthly cell phone bills.
Thanks to a new Israeli technology, in-flight cellular phone usage may become a reality. Qualcomm Israel, a subsidiary of the US-based Qualcomm, has developed technology which would allow for clear, safe cellular phone calls to be made while traveling in an airplane.