Pico-cell in airplanes

Somewhere in the back of our minds, we all knew it was coming sooner or later...and now, its here. Planes in the European Union have been developed with a technology that allows the in-flight use of cell phones. The service, which could be instituted as early as next year for 2nd-generation phones, will allow people to make phone calls in planes cruising above 3000 meters. As is to be expected, cell phone companies will charge more for these calls than any calls made on the ground.

So here's how it works: the planes are equipped with a base-station called a pico-cell that creates a "mini-network" in the cabin of the plane. The pico-cell then transmits to a satellite, which hooks it up to networks on the ground.