5 ms·

Lufthansa already does this with LTE. https://spacenews.com/lufthansa-deutsche-telekom-join-inmarsat-to-bring-lte-to-airline-passengers/ https://spacenews.com/l

Lufthansa already does this with LTE. https://spacenews.com/lufthansa-deutsche-telekom-join-inmarsat-to-bring-lte-to-airline-passengers/ https://spacenews.com/lufthansa-deutsche-telekom-join-inmars... It's hardly impossible. Mobile data works off line of sight. The cells are much larger for radios pointed at the sky.

tjohns 4y ago
Lufthansa runs a micro-cell onboard the aircraft. You're connected to a single dedicated cell tower inside the airplane, not to stations on the ground. No handoffs involved. (The airplane's micro-cell will then have a backhaul over satellite or dedicated air-ground radio, just like in-flight wifi. Yes, there are handoffs there, but it's not via the normal cellular network - which is an important distinction.) This also means the cellphone's radio is transmitting at minimum power, since it's right next to the antenna for the micro-cell.