In the early part of the 2000s, airlines started telling you that you couldn’t use your phone on a plane. Back then, it wasn’t a big deal since the only thing you could do on a phone was talk anyway. But of course, now we use our phones for so much more.
Since 2014, you can legally use your cell phone on a plane… but there’s a hitch. It turns out that if you want in-flight data, you have to pay the airline. It turns out there’s no service up in the friendly skies. Before the 21st century, when it was legal to make a call on a plane, cell technology was different and since then, new tower technology has meant that cell signals are pointed out toward the people who need them, not up in the air.
So, let’s just say that you brought a cell booster on a plane. Some planes have power outlets at the seat, so let’s say that you plugged it in, convinced another passenger who was 20 feet away to hold the outdoor antenna, and you held the indoor one. Would it work?
Big Fat Disclaimer…
There is a strong possibility that it’s still illegal to use a cell booster on a plane. There are any of a dozen FCC rules and airline rules that probably stop you from doing this. So don’t do it.
For the record we didn’t do it either. Why? Because we’re pretty sure it wouldn’t work for three reasons:
Because you have to point the outdoor antenna at the tower.
And, you know, the tower is DOWN. There’s a lot of plane between you and the ground and a lot of it is made of metal. There’s no way the outdoor antenna would penetrate.
Because you have to point it at the tower and that means you’d have to constantly move it.
Cell boosters aren’t made to move like that. Before you say that we could use one designed for a car, those have weaker antennas and aren’t likely to work inside the plane either.
Because the towers are like 8 miles away at least.
If you’re up at 45,000 feet, then you’re 8 miles from a ground based tower even if you’re right on top of it. Throw in some fancy geometry and you could be 10 or 12 miles away from a tower. That’s a lot to ask of a cell booster that usually works best from a distance of just a few miles.
Yeah, but you’ve been able to make use your phone on planes for a long time, so how do they do it?
Technically, it’s legal to make voice calls from planes now. No one does it, and I have to say I’m pretty glad about that. People do use their phones for data, though, and that’s done through the internet connection on the plane. Most planes use satellite internet, with a system that’s not too different from the ones that boats use. It’s just more optimized to work when you’re going 500 miles an hour. The planes aren’t using the cellular network at all.
Need a cellular signal booster for down on the ground? We have you covered.
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Call 888-233-7563 and you’ll reach an expert in our Michigan corporate offices. We can help you with choosing a product, and we can even help you get and activate a new phone. We’re full service! Call during East Coast business hours or fill out the form below and we’ll get right back to you.
