Avionics
Satcom Direct Service To Allow Onboard Cellphone Calls
Satcom Direct has readied a GSM-in-the-cabin solution, which enables seamless cell phone usage.
Satcom Direct's Global VT service lets users make calls from the airplane using their own cellphones.
Satcom Direct's Global VT service lets users make calls from the airplane using their own cellphones.

Satellite Beach, Fla.-based Satcom Direct launched a new service that allows travellers in business aircraft to use their cellphones seamlessly in flight, through the use of what is effectively an onboard mobile phone cell. All that is required to access the “Global VT” service is a Satcom Direct Router (SDR) in the aircraft, with the latest software update. As of mid-February, some 75 aircraft had SDRs installed and the company expects to have several hundred installed by year-end.