March/April 2005

Executives travelling by air could soon be able to use ordinary mobile phones during their journeys. That's the objective of a new company, OnAir, which has been set up jointly by Airbus Industries and SITA, a leader in air transport-focused applications, communications and IT infrastructure. Also involved is Tenzing, a Seattle-based software company which pioneered in-flight e-mail.

Speaking at a launch event, chief executive George Cooper said that new technology built round existing mobile phones would replace existing aircraft phones, which were generally regarded by users as inaccessible, and could in any case make outgoing calls only. Currently less than one "in-seat" call was made per flight, he said.

OnAir would allow travellers to use their own mobile phones for both outgoing and incoming calls and text messaging; and they would be able to pay through a regular mobile operator, with invoicing based on international roaming rates.

The challenges were those of adapting existing technologies to the airborne environment, said Cooper, and of creating an international framework for the operation of a mobile network in an aircraft. Current regulations were designed for ground networks, Cooper pointed out.

 

The rewards were an onboard market estimated at $1.6 billion for voice and $400 million for data by 2009. Not that you'll have to wait that long; OnAir hopes to be up and running in Europe by 2006.