AirCell Takes Off

Using cellular frequencies to provide a voice-and-data network for business and private aircraft seemed a little bizarre when AirCell first proposed it to the FCC in 1991. In fact, the FCC laughed at AirCell, said Jeff Hoppe, vice president of sales and marketing. Then it said no frequencies were available.

It took seven years for AirCell's plan to become reality, and those years sometimes seemed like a made-for-TV movie.

The opening scene: Jimmy Ray, company founder, and Hoppe sit in a barbecue restaurant sketching out on a paper napkin how cellular phones can be used in airplane communications.

The helping hand: GE determines that AirCell's technology would allow it to monitor jet-engine performance in real time during flight. GE helps with the technological development and adds credibility to the company, enabling it to get financing.

The antagonists: AirTouch, Ameritech, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, GTE and Southwestern Bell petition the FCC, saying that AirCell's technology will interfere with their cellular systems. AirCell counters that it doesn't produce interference.

The happy ending: On Christmas Eve 1998, the FCC finally issues a waiver saying the prohibition of cellular phones in aircraft shouldn't apply to AirCell's units.

Today AirCell is well on its way to completing its nationwide network. It operates under cellular-company licenses and reuses analog-cellular frequencies, said Jim Stinehelfer, AirCell president. Sites are located in quieter areas, so the airborne transmitters can be operated at a very low power levels, about 5mW, which is less than the power typically put out by cellular handsets, he said.

The system also is designed to use horizontal-wave polarization rather than the vertical polarization used by most conventional cellular systems. Non-standard control channels and antenna patterns help eliminate interference.

Pilots use the AirCell system for voice, fax, e-mail and Internet access to, among other things, weather information. They pay a flat monthly fee per line and $1.75 per minute for airtime.

AirCell currently works with more than 20 cellular carriers, mostly in rural areas. It's seeking a few more partnerships in order to complete its network, which currently covers more than 95% of the major aviation routes. The FCC requires the partners to file a request for waiver of the Commission's rules and to state that they intend to abide by AirCell's waiver conditions.

Carriers negotiate contracts for airtime and install AirCell equipment on their sites. Rural Cellular Corporation (RCC) was one of the first to contract with AirCell and is pleased with the relationship.

"It's not an abundant business proposition yet," said Scott Donlea, RCC vice president, sales & marketing, citing the delays caused by challenges from some of the larger carriers. But he is looking forward to future income.

As for AirCell's challengers, they aren't ready to concede.

"Our engineers maintain AirCell's signals interfere with our terrestrial cell sites," said Ken Woo, AT&T Wireless spokesperson.