GSM OnBoard Aircraft Presented By John Mettrop Directorate

GSM On-Board Aircraft Presented By John Mettrop Directorate of Airspace Policy Surveillance & Spectrum Management ACD A 00000 00 -01

What Is GSM On-Board Aircraft v Allows the use of mobile phones on board aircraft v Consists of w Noise floor lifter w GSM Pico-cell w Satellite communications link ACD A 00000 00 -01

How Does it Work? BTS = Base Transceiver Station NCU = Network Control Unit AGS = Aircraft GSM Server ACD A 00000 00 -01

Bands Controlled v Connectivity: w 1710 -1785 MHz and 1805 -1880 MHz (GSM 1800) v Control: w 876 -915 MHz and 921 -960 MHz (GSM 900 including GSM-R) w 1710 -1785 MHz and 1805 -1880 MHz (GSM 1800) w 1920 -1980 MHz and 2110 -2170 MHz (UMTS UTRA- FDD 2 GHz) v Future Control: w IMT extension bands ACD A 00000 00 -01

History v First brought to ICAO’s attention in 2004 v Sept 2006, FMG recommend delay of approval until all issues are resolved v Dec 2006 w EANPG adopt FMG recommendation w State letter issued by ICAO Paris office w ECC decision on GSM on-board aircraft v Qantas aircraft starts flight trials v June 2007 Airbus A 318 tale number MSN 3009 approved for operational trials in France ACD A 00000 00 -01

Issues Identified (1) v Technical w Aeronautical v. Interference to On-Board Radio Systems v. Effect of Failure Modes on PSU v. Need for the Jammer to be turned on during Take of and Landing w Radio Regulatory v. Protection of Ground network v. Applicability over countries and control of the units ACD A 00000 00 -01

Issues Identified (2) v Operational w When will the phones have to be switched off w How this can be ensured through airline procedures for announcements etc w Applicability between different fleets and aircraft in fleets w Identification of different types of phones w Interference with/attention to safety messages ACD A 00000 00 -01

Issues Identified (3) v Human Factors w Air Rage v. Passengers who do not want to hear others using phones v. Those who want to use their phones but cannot w Understanding differences in usage according to aircraft/airline/region w Turning phones off during take-off and landing ACD A 00000 00 -01

Issues Identified (4) v Others w Applicability in Europe of EU ruling on roaming charges w Implication for other systems ACD A 00000 00 -01

Where are We Now? v 1 Air France Aircraft fitted but not flying v 1 Qantas aircraft fitted and flying v Positive feedback from Qantas trial v Interest from a number of other airlines w Emirates w Ryanair w Etc v European Commission to hold a Workshop on the issue (3/10/07) ACD A 00000 00 -01