Air France launches in-flight cell phone trial
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Air France launched a commercial trial of an onboard cell phone service, but in a limited fashion that avoids a controversial aspect.Travelers on certain Air France planes on European routes can send and receive short messages and, provided their phones support Internet access, send and receive e-mails.Initially, travelers won&#39;t be able to make or receive voice calls. That limitation skirts an important issue: whether cell phone talkers will annoy nearby passengers.However, in about three months, Air France does plan to allow voice calls, but said it will regulate the service &quot;to maintain passengers&#39; comfort and well-being.&quot; It did not explain how it might do that.Onboard calls and messages are routed through a small cellular base station inside the plane. From there, messages are transmitted over satellite to the ground and then on to the telephone network. The service is supplied by OnAir, a company part owned by airplane maker Airbus.To use their phones, passengers must dial as if they&#39;re making an international call. Air France did not say how much each message would cost for users but said the price is comparable to traditional mobile phone use.The planes come equipped with a new illuminated sign that instructs passengers when to keep their phones off. Travelers can send and receive messages only when the plane rises above 10,000 feet.Tips for using the service will be explained on a leaflet in seat pockets, Air France said. In addition, users will be able to fill out a survey about their experiences using it. After six months, Air France will consider whether to launch the service on all of its flights.Airlines and regulators worldwide have been considering onboard cell phone use for years. Some regulators, including the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, have banned mobile phone use on airplanes. The European Union, however, has approved the idea, and various national regulators there have begun to allow it. Airlines in other regions, like the Australian operator Qantas, are also conducting more limited tests of the service.JetBlue, Yahoo, and Research In Motion recently launched a service on one airplane in the U.S. that allows users to send and receive e-mail from BlackBerry phones, Wi-Fi smartphones, and laptops. However, the service uses an onboard Wi-Fi network instead of cellular phone technology.
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European planemaker Airbus reported  progress on Wednesday in plans to allow passengers to use  mobile phones in flight, beginning in 2006.
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Pour la convenance, naturellement Air France and KLM have launched a mobile phone check-in service using SMS for confirmation.â¦
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In what it calls a first in international air travel, Finnair says it will let its frequent fliers check in using text messages on mobile phones.
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The European company Airbus and a Geneva-based information technology firm, SITA, said they had set up a joint venture to make mobile telephone services available for passengers during flights.
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Apple is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between iPod and in-flight entertainment systems. These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays.
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A trial begins in Paris over the late President Francois Mitterrand's  wiretapping of his opponents in the 1980s.
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Airline passengers already are beginning to brace for the possible introduction of cellphones on commercial flights. Listen to Richard Archambault, an architect from Schaumburg
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A total of 16 people and companies appear in court in eastern France tomorrow for a mammoth three-month trial that will seek to determine responsibility for one of historys worst tunnel disasters.
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A trial at London's Heathrow Airport will use biometric fingerprint and iris scans to screen air passengers.
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European planemaker Airbus reported progress on Wednesday in plans to allow passengers to use mobile phones in flight, beginning in 2006.
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The world&#39;s top mobile phone maker Nokia said on Tuesday its phones would be used in a project to test wireless public transport fares in Hanau, near Frankfurt in Germany, beginning early next year.
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Six-month study will allow passengers to send messages and make calls.
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LONDON Orange, a unit of France TÃ©lÃ©com, rolled out its third-generation mobile phone services Monday in France and Britain, joining the growing ranks of cellular operators hoping to entice Europeans with offerings like video calling, music downloads
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European plane maker Airbus SAS has successfully completed the first in-flight trial of mobile phones and infrastructure equipment based on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) technology, the company said Wednesday.
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Ziff Davis - Airbus makes it possible to make in-flight cell phone calls. Is it a real technology advancement, or does it work like my anti-lion powder?
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The US Federal Communications Commission has approved a plan to allow airlines to offer in-flight wireless data service, although it may be some time before such service becomes commercially available.