X-Nico

3 unusual facts about Mobile phones on aircraft


Mobile phones on aircraft

The multitude of incompatible mobile phone systems in the United States and some other countries makes the situation more difficult — it is not clear if the onboard repeaters will be compatible with all of the different cell-phone protocols (TDMA, GSM, CDMA, iDen) and their respective providers.

Following OnAir's series of tests that showed electromagnetic radiation of onboard GSM mobiles being lower than 1% of the limits endorsed by the World Health Organization and so significantly below radiation levels of common terrestrial emission levels, inflight usage of mobile phones is considered harmless to passengers' health.

As of mid April 2007 Qantas teamed up with Panasonic Avionics Corporation and AeroMobile to commence a three-month trial that would "enable customers to send and receive e-mails, access the Internet and send and receive text messages from their own mobile phone".



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