That was my original thought as well, but reading the article again, it looks like they are talking about putting 5G "cells" on the actual airplanes. Given how

That was my original thought as well, but reading the article again, it looks like they are talking about putting 5G "cells" on the actual airplanes. Given how much cheaper satellite broadband access has gotten, it actually makes a lot of sense. Cell phone providers will negotiate with airlines to get their "micro-cell" installed and connected to the existing internet uplink. Once this is fairly ubiquitous, cell phones will be "whispering" to the in-airplane tower, and hence won't bother the cell towers on the ground. A cell provider's goal is to provide access in as many places as possible with as little work required by you as possible - this is one step better than inflight wifi from that regard.