TWO-WAY IN-FLIGHT RADIO TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

A system and method for providing two-way in-flight radio telecommunications onboard an aircraft (41) are disclosed. The radio telecommunication system (30) includes a Gateway Mobile Switching Center (G-MSC) (37), an Aircraft Inflight System Controller (AISC) (31) located onboard a subscriber's aircraft (41), a Ground In-flight System Controller (GISC) (35), a satellite (33) to relay messages and calls from the GISC and AISC, and a Home Location Register (HLR) (39) which provides routing and location information for use by the GISC and the G-MSC. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a system and method for using a mobile phone (114) on an aircraft are disclosed. A mobile phone (114) is connected to a seat terminal (113) located on an aircraft by a co-ax cable (115). The radio frequency (RF) signals produced by a mobile phone pass through a co-ax cable (116) to an Airborne Radio Base Station (A-RBS) (112). The A-RBS converts the RF signals into signals which do not interfere with the aircraft's navigational and communication equipment and are compatible with the GISC (35) and multiple cellular networks. These converted signals are then transmitted via satellite (33) to a cellular network (49).