OnAir to make mobile telephony available during flights

European company Airbus and Geneva-based information technology company SITA http://www.sita.aero have announced that they have set up a joint venture to make mobile telephone services available for passengers during flights. In a statement on SITA's website, the new company, OnAir, said that the new system should allow passenger to use their own mobile phone and laptop wireless internet access to communicate normally with people on the ground, possible after 2006. It added that the system, which relies on widely used GSM technology rather than upcoming third generation mobile telephony had undergone "successful in-flight testing by Airbus. It will also be developed for Boeing airliners.
http://www.sita.aero/News_Centre/Press_releases/Press_releases_2005/OnAir_To_Be_A_Standard_Option.htm