Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Wed, 3 Apr 1991 23:23:33 GMT From: David Lemson Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Use in Aircraft Message-ID: Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 267, Message 2 of 11 Lines: 28 cornutt@freedom.msfc.nasa.gov (David Cornutt) writes: > group about the use of cellular phones from aircraft. Can anyone > answer: > (1) what effects this could have on the cellular phone net? We've been through this before. The bottom line, from several authoritative sources that I'm told, is: In rural areas where cells are likely to be fairly spread apart, the impact on the cellular network is likely to be minimal. It might be even "ok". (If you can even get a tower!! The antennas that cell phones use, including on the site towers, have almost zero coverage straight up, where you are!) In metro areas, such as if you were in a heli over Manhattan, it would WREAK HAVOC, as it keeps bouncing you from channel to channel trying to only receive you at one site, which it receives you at several sites at once! This is discounting the fact that you might hear others' conversations. As for FCC rules, it appears that there are no regulations that disallow this, but it is REALLY not a good idea. Cell phones were made for people to be travelling relatively slowly. David Lemson U of Illinois Computing Services Student Consultant Internet : lemson@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu UUCP :...!uiucuxc!uiucux1!lemson