3 ms·

Many airlines have repeaters on their planes, allowing people to place cell phone calls and send/receive text messages, usually at inflated prices. So why do y

Many airlines have repeaters on their planes, allowing people to place cell phone calls and send/receive text messages, usually at inflated prices. So why do you think it's impossible?

rapsey 9y ago
Because those flights did not and US airlines in general don't at least not then.
dogma1138 9y ago
Not in 2001 tho, I have no beef in this but people forget the times...
- 6nf 9y ago
  Yea but clearly these planes were not flying at 30,000 feet so regular cell tower calls would have worked
  - rapsey 9y ago
    Source? Not only is there a height limit, there is a speed limit for call handoff between towers. It's pretty low at ~100mph. Way below airplane speed.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - flukus 9y ago
      They seem to work fine on high speed rail.
  - dogma1138 9y ago
    Also with much older cellular technology, in 2001 the US mostly used 2G TDMA/CDMA networks with carriers like Verizon still relying on older AMPS systems on the 850mhz band. I'm not entirely sure how that would've worked, even today having a phone call from low altitude is pretty hard jets are pretty decent Faraday cages and the speed is just as much of a problem as the altitude. There is a difference between having the cellphone pining a tower or even managing to get a short data packet from time to time and having an uninterrupted phone call. I don't think there 9/11 was a "conspiracy" I think there was just a lot of random information that amplified to conspiratorial levels.
    - flukus 9y ago
      > jets are pretty decent Faraday cages No they aren't, you can make calls perfectly fine from inside a jet, 4g reception works too, you're even allowed to do this until takeoff now.
    - 6nf 9y ago
      I know I'm supposed to turn my phone to flight mode but I often use my phone on planes so I know it works. I've been doing this for years. Jets are not faraday cages. The speed of the jet slows down your connection and you need to be over a city but it works just fine. I can browse the web, watch youtube vids, etc. I don't make calls on a plane cause that would just annoy everyone around me but I'm confident it will work.

Many airlines have repeaters on their planes, allowing people to place cell phone calls and send/receive text messages, usually at inflated prices. So why do you think it's impossible?

rapsey 9y ago

Because those flights did not and US airlines in general don't at least not then.

dogma1138 9y ago

Not in 2001 tho, I have no beef in this but people forget the times...

6nf 9y ago
Yea but clearly these planes were not flying at 30,000 feet so regular cell tower calls would have worked
- rapsey 9y ago
  Source? Not only is there a height limit, there is a speed limit for call handoff between towers. It's pretty low at ~100mph. Way below airplane speed.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - flukus 9y ago
    They seem to work fine on high speed rail.
- dogma1138 9y ago
  Also with much older cellular technology, in 2001 the US mostly used 2G TDMA/CDMA networks with carriers like Verizon still relying on older AMPS systems on the 850mhz band. I'm not entirely sure how that would've worked, even today having a phone call from low altitude is pretty hard jets are pretty decent Faraday cages and the speed is just as much of a problem as the altitude. There is a difference between having the cellphone pining a tower or even managing to get a short data packet from time to time and having an uninterrupted phone call. I don't think there 9/11 was a "conspiracy" I think there was just a lot of random information that amplified to conspiratorial levels.
  - flukus 9y ago
    > jets are pretty decent Faraday cages No they aren't, you can make calls perfectly fine from inside a jet, 4g reception works too, you're even allowed to do this until takeoff now.
  - 6nf 9y ago
    I know I'm supposed to turn my phone to flight mode but I often use my phone on planes so I know it works. I've been doing this for years. Jets are not faraday cages. The speed of the jet slows down your connection and you need to be over a city but it works just fine. I can browse the web, watch youtube vids, etc. I don't make calls on a plane cause that would just annoy everyone around me but I'm confident it will work.