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Cell Phones Shut Off At Altitude By Cell Operator?  
User currently offlineA380900 From France, joined Dec 2003, 744 posts, RR: 1
Posted (4 years 9 months 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 649 times:

Yesterday, on a private airplane, I have tried to call people while I was over the Manhattan are/Connecticut in a Cessna 172. Sometimes, I could talk with the persons I called, but only briefly. Other times, I could not even connect. In both cases, I had this message:

"You operator does not allow you to perform this call.
Message WA8"
again and again...

Is there a way for mobile phone company to know that you are up in the air? Is there a shutoff system?


[Edited 2005-02-06 21:33:40]

2 replies: All unread, jump to last
 
User currently offlinePilotaydin From Turkey, joined Sep 2004, 2227 posts, RR: 51
Reply 1, posted (4 years 9 months 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 614 times:

if there is such a system, it would be the first time i hear of it...

perhaps your altitude had something to do with coverage angles that antennas and transceivers are angled at.....

i used to call my gf at about 2000 ft over daytona, but the higher i got, i got the same message


The only time there is too much fuel onboard, is when you're on fire!
User currently offlineIakobos From Dem Rep of Congo (Zaire), joined Aug 2003, 2630 posts, RR: 42
Reply 2, posted (4 years 9 months 1 week 22 hours ago) and read 559 times:

Yes there is a way, and quite simple at that.
No sophisticated system though, the operator simply implemented a feature blocking calls which are received simultaneously by multiple bases (cells).
If you fly at 2,000ft over an urban area you are likely to reach half a dozen or even more cells. It is not that the network cannot handle the call, it is that either for "imposed" or technical reasons they do not want it.

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