Thanks. It is indeed quite fascinating, though I think one can get stung quite badly on charges. A bit of further reading on the subject tells me that Ryanair's system (which goes live in the next few months) will be quite similar but use Monaco Telecom. The company that is supplying them is
http://www.onair.aero
Quote:
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The deal means that from mid 2007 (subject to relevant regulatory approval) Ryanair’s passengers will be able to call, text and e-mail using their mobile phones, BlackBerrys™ and Treos™ at rates which will mirror international roaming charges. OnAir intend to fit 50 Ryanair aircraft during the second half of 2007, with the remainder of the fleet receiving installations from early 2008 onwards. Mobile OnAir will be offered on all Ryanair flights across Ryanair’s network of more than 360 routes serving 23 countries across Europe. Ryanair will be the first European airline to offer this mobile telephony to all passengers on all of its 200 plus aircraft fleet.
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I wonder what options exist/will exist for evading the likely high costs of roaming on all such "pico-networks" even if they are intended to "mirror international roaming charges"... (however just what this means remains to be seen).