Bringing wireless to the friendly skies

For AirCell Inc., it all began with an idea and a napkin. In 1991 Jimmy Ray and Geoffrey Hoppe, founding father and vice president of sales and marketing, respectively, sketched out on a napkin the idea of using cellular-style telephones in airplanes. They wanted to offer an affordable system for general aviation that provided voice and data. Seven years later, the FCC granted the company the waiver it needed to execute its plan.

"It is a seamless network in the sky," said Jim Stinehelfer, president and CEO. "We have 150 base stations on the ground, pointing circles in the sky."

AirCell provides personal air-to-ground wireless communications to the general aviation and commercial airline markets using technology that connects their airborne telephone system to existing ground-based cellular networks. The system offers voice and data, including fax, e-mail and Internet access.

"We will be able to bring important information to a broader range of pilots," said Stinehelfer. "Besides voice, we will bring safety information, including weather, in a timely, accurate fashion, which will have a profound impact on general aviation safety."

The big six cellular telephone companies - AT&T, GTE, Bell-South, AirTouch, Southwestern Bell and Bell Atlantic Mobility - hindered AirCell's attempts to gain approval from the FCC. They protested that the AirCell system caused interference. Although the commission awarded the waiver in December 1998, the six still disapprove. The waiver states that the prohibition against cellular phones in aircraft should not apply to AirCell's units.

"My hope is to resolve the matter over the next several months," said an FCC official. "The wireless bureau was comfortable with all [AirCell's plans] to go forward last December."

Engineering skills and superior technology were not enough to convince AT&T that a small company such as AirCell could devise something they did not, said Stinehelfer.

"The regulatory battle has been ongoing and difficult," he said. "We are in the standing and walking phase now, whereas before we were in the crawling phase."

Despite its regulatory strife, the company has attracted the attention of some large companies such as General Electric. When GE first heard about AirCell, it was immediately interested because of the company's ability to monitor engine performance during flight in real time. As a result, GE completed much of the company's technology development over the next two years. The GE name gave the fledgling company the credibility it needed.

"In terms of the system and concept, it is quite viable," said Don Puckett, manager of communications programs at GE. "As for the future [of AirCell], it depends on how fast the system is rolled out. It may also have to convert to digital in order to follow the evolution of the mobile telephone."

Currently 100 aircraft use the AirCell system and roughly 25 more are installing it, said Stinehelfer. The system is intended for business and private aircraft, but the waiver lets the company expand into commercial service.

"It is unprecedented; they have achieved a breakthrough in price performance for telephone communication in aircraft," said Don Heimark, vice president of Arch-angel Systems, an AirCell customer. "They have made telephone equipment that is rational for the small airplane. It is a comfort as well as one more backup if the radios are on the fritz."

Because the system re-uses available technology and network equipment, it is affordable. In the next few months the company intends to roll out nationwide coverage. It currently has agreements with 16 providers with eight more in negotiation, said Stinehelfer.

"The cellular providers we buy airtime from are thrilled to have access to technology that opens a new market for them," said Geoffrey Hoppe, vice president of sales and marketing for AirCell.