AirCell Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based company that has developed a system to provide ground communications for aircraft using cellular channels, has been in a holding pattern since early this year.
The company, which for two years had been testing its system under experimental authority from the Federal Communications Commission, was challenged by GTE Corp., BellSouth Corp. and AT&T Corp.
The carriers said, among other things, that AirCell’s system caused harmful interference in their cellular channels and that AirCell is required under terms of its experimental license to obtain agreements with cellular carriers whose markets are affected.
After conducting a series of tests that were observed by several independent consultants, AirCell this month petitioned the FCC to remove the freeze, saying the tests showed that its system caused no interference.
The company also asked the commission to waive the rule that prohibits the use of cellular phones in aircraft, thus allowing AirCell to operate on a permanent basis.
BellSouth and GTE in their complaint said the FCC has found that radio transmissions from airborne cellular telephones are received by multiple cell sites in cellular markets and prevent frequency reuse, and that is why the commission has issued rules prohibiting the use of cellular phones on aircraft.
Founded in 1991 by pilot and entrepreneur Jimmy Ray, AirCell’s original purpose was to develop a system to provide a wider scope of communication than traditional aircraft radio systems allowed. The idea of reusing cellular frequencies was conceived during discussions with the FCC, said Jim Stinehelfer, president of AirCell.
The company hired GE Research to evaluate the possibilities of reusing cellular frequencies, and after testing, GE concluded the concept was viable.
In 1994, the company was operating under temporary authority, and since has acquired experimental licenses from the FCC to test the system. Early this year, AirCell secured an extension to its license until June 1998 to conduct market verification tests.
That’s when it met its challenge from GTE, BellSouth and AT&T.
“We’re clearly being challenged by some large companies-who are also our competitors in the air-to-ground business,” said Stinehelfer. “When they say that they’re concerned about this, the FCC listens to them. So the FCC has to take a very responsible approach to this.”
With 21 ground cell sites and 50 aircraft equipped with the system, AirCell found itself frozen by the FCC, which allowed it to continue operating the equipment it already had but prohibited it from adding to the system.
Stinehelfer holds fast to AirCell’s conclusion that the system causes no interference, and he says the FCC has told the company that its experiment has merit. In addition to bringing voice and data communications to travelers and pilots, the system also provides several safety features, primarily delivering real-time weather information to pilots, which could prevent accidents, he said.
“When he’s flying along, he’s not relying on weather information that he got three hours ago from the last ground station,” said Stinehelfer, whose company estimates the system could prevent 100 fatal accidents per year. “That will save people’s lives.
“Because he’ll now be flying into known conditions, or he won’t be flying into bad weather conditions at all, because he’ll know how to avoid it or he’ll know when it’s time to seek a place to land.”
Other safety applications of the system include use as an emergency backup system if the primary radio system fails, and a potential emergency service in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration that would allow pilots to connect automatically to a regional FAA headquarters.
“We’re not just trying to make a cry-wolf type of argument when we say that the system will save lives,” he said. “It literally will save lives.”
On the business side, Stinehelfer said the system opens up a vital communications link for business travelers.
“The average businessman driving around in his car has more capability on a communication side than the CEO of a Fortune 500 company flying across the country,” he said.
Stinehelfer, who also is a pilot, recently flew from Colorado to Dallas for the National Business Aircraft Association show, and he said he was able to call the company’s booth on the floor of the show from 100 miles out.
“It’s actually a perfect cellular call,” said Stinehelfer. “It’s perfect because we have direct line of sight between the aircraft and the receiving system on the ground. There’s no trees, no buildings-nothing that adds additional interference or affects the quality of the call.”
On the way back, he connected his personal computer to the Internet through the system and was able to check weather and stocks, he said.
“It’s such an advantage because you have all the power of your office now in the aircraft, and you have all these additional safety benefits,” he said. “You wonder why it took so long for this type of capability to become available.”
