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Originally Posted by Looger
seems like a lot of research is being done to make cells work at higher altitudes, why bother when dozens of calls worked with networks seven years older?
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My following comment is actually coming out of my ass, so take it for what it's worth.
All I know is one time I forgot to turn off my cell phone. Right in the middle of the flight it started ringing. (Fortunately on vibrate mode.) I opened it to turn it off, and noticed before I hit the power button that it was showing analog mode; even though flying from Calgary to Winnipeg we were over the digital towers that dot the Trans Canada Highway.
Here's what I am supposing from this:
- Analog signals travel better. Unlike digital where the signal is either on or off, analog will give a few seconds of static instead of dropping the call.
- Cell signals do reach 32,000 feet
Now I haven't seen the movie in question; but on two other "Flight 93" movies they showed people talking to loved ones, then later calling them back. Myself; if I thought I was going to die I would have let the cell minutes rack up. Perhaps we are all a little partially right; in that the cell phones did work; but there were dropped calls.
Also, I know I have talked on the phone for the better part of an hour on the phone on the highway; so I know that what Telus tells me is true about cell towers handing off calls from one to another.