[49294] in North American Network Operators' Group
RE: How do I log on while in flight?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Marc Pierrat)
Thu Jun 27 17:26:59 2002
From: "Marc Pierrat" <marc@sunchar.com>
To: "Scott Weeks" <surfer@mauislanwanman.com>,
"Leigh Anne Chisholm" <lachisho@tnc.com>
Cc: <nanog@merit.edu>
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 17:18:46 -0400
In-Reply-To: <20020627105224.K73109-100000@www.mauigateway.com>
Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
Inmarsat has recently introduced a new service called Swift64.
http://www.via-inmarsat.org/swift64_solutions.cfm
This is a bit more sophisticated than todays Airfone:
www.airfone.com
Inmarsat has many products for video over satellite; I believe some of =
the hazy CNN video streams you get from Afganistan use one of those =
Inmarsat small briefcase units.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On Behalf Of
> Scott Weeks
> Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 5:01 PM
> To: Leigh Anne Chisholm
> Cc: nanog@merit.edu
> Subject: RE: How do I log on while in flight?
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> I was mainly thinking of satellite systems, but failed to remember the
> latency problems associated with them so the videoconferencing example
> wouldn't work. (not enough coffee today... :) So for latency tolerent
> apps does satellite work well when traveling at air speeds? If the
> footprint doesn't cover the entire area traveled how well does hand =
off
> from one 'cell' to another work? What do the big boys like the =
president
> and corporate execs use?
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> Also, that the cellular network could crash if cell phones are used at
> altitude seems like a big security hole to me.
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> scott
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> On Thu, 27 Jun 2002, Leigh Anne Chisholm wrote:
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> : The FCC prohibits communication using a cellular telephone while in =
an
> : aircraft in US airspace. In Canada, I don't believe there is such a
> : regulation.
> :
> : >From doing research on this topic earlier this year, I came across =
news
> : articles that say that several aircraft manufacturers have=20
> tested the use of
> : cellular telephones on aircraft systems and found no effects=20
> whatsoever. So
> : why the FCC ruling?
> :
> : Likely it's because of the design of the cellular network -=20
> which from what I
> : understand, is far more dense in the US than it is in Canada=20
> (which might be
> : why the CRTC doesn't have such a prohibition). The problem is=20
> what happens
> : when a cellular device is based above the cellular system=20
> antennae - there is
> : an ability to connect to multiple systems simultaneously, and=20
> that's something
> : the system wasn't designed to see happen. Additionally,=20
> there's the hand-off
> : factor, of the negotiation process of what happens when you=20
> leave the range of
> : one cellular tower and enter the range of another. In an aircraft, =
that
> : happens at a rate greater than would be if the cellular phone=20
> were used in a
> : car - so again, there's a problem there. The Airphone system found =
on
> : commercial aircraft was designed to overcome these limitations=20
> - which is why
> : they CAN be used onboard commercial aircraft systems.
> :
> : So, besides it being illegal, you run the risk of taking down=20
> your service
> : provider's cellular network - and from what I've heard, this=20
> doesn't make them
> : very happy.
> :
> : In summary - don't do it.
> :
> :
> : -- Leigh Anne Chisholm
> : Network Engineer
> : Applied Design Networks
> :
> :
> : > -----Original Message-----
> : > From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On =
Behalf Of
> : > Scott Weeks
> : > Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 2:11 PM
> : > To: nanog@merit.edu
> : > Subject: How do I log on while in flight?
> : >
> : > I was wondering if any of y'all could give me pointers to=20
> services I could
> : > use to log into a network during flight on a private=20
> airplane. For example
> : > a person is in flight cross-country and needs to do a =
videoconference,
> : > send email from his network to interested parties, or any of=20
> the normal
> : > things we do from the ground. Is this possible or would it=20
> interfere with
> : > the plane's other systems?
> : >
> : > scott
> :
> :
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