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“VoWiFi in the sky with diamonds….” written and published by Fat Pipe Productions, LLC 10/25/15
Can you hear me now? It takes on a whole new meaning when traveling at altitude of 35,000 feet and a speed of 500+ mph. This week for the first time anywhere I know of a cellular phone (iPhone 6s) made an HD VoWiFi call. While this is may be a normal activity while on the ground the recent release of the Iphone 6S and VoWiFi made it possible on an airplane too.
You may ask was there some kind of hackery, witchcraft or jailbreak(ery) to make this happen. The answer is no. All that was needed was an activated Iphone 6S, SIM, and access to a wifi network(in this case a paid wifi service provided by the airline).
You may also ask why in the heck did you even attempt this call as it’s never been done. In my case I needed to connect with a colleague regarding an urgent matter. So after purchasing a by the hour plan and connecting the exchange server and surfing the web, there was an additional banner next to my carrier info on the Iphone. It said “AT&T WIFI” along with the standard wifi icon.
This “WIFI” text indicated that the phone was connected for HD voice calling over WiFi. So while there was absolutely no cell tower connectivity, the carrier saw the phone and registered it back to the carrier’s IMS network that provides authentication to access my regular services.
The phone was able to make and receive calls while on the plane. To make sure this was no random a few additonal calls were made, M2M, L2M, and conference bridges. Every outgoing call was successful. Incoming phone calls occurred the phone rang instantly without issue. What was really amazing was the received voice quality was what I thought a 4.2 MoS(very good). The only issue was the outgoing voice from the phone was a bit muffled according to the folks on the other side. This is probably due to the noise on the actual plane vs. the service causing impairments. Cupping the corded mic did improve the situation.
What are the implications of this activity? I have not heard or seen any info that this is supposed to be possible. It is also probable that some type of additional FCC regulation would generally prevent this from being allowed as it is on a airplane. Is this a problem of configuration of the Airline ISP network or is it just now available but it hasn’t been announced officially.
Here’s the rub. I was the traveler’s worst nightmare, saying can you hear me now as I chatted with collegues and my wife on the other end of my calls. Honestly I didn’t even want to keep testing it but it seemed like a public service to validate this “feature”. Luckily the customer seated next to me was a good sport and in the telecommunications industry as well.
It will be interesting to find out from the Carriers and FCC if actually allows this or if it will be blocked by Airlines ISPs in the future when they read this article. Until then don’t be surprised if on the next flight you start hearing “can you hear me now” more often. Kind of terrifying and futuristic at the same time. I do hope there’s no additional VoWifi fee for dialing at such a high altitude, joking of course.
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