Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 30
By Huseyn Valiyev – Trend:
The reason for the termination of services by Azerbaijani mobile communication operators, namely, Bakcell, Azercell and Nar, is connected with the problem of automatic switching of Sim-cards of subscribers living in the country’s Bina settlement (where the airport is located) to the network of equipment installed in airliners, a source in the country’s telecommunication market told Trend.
According to the source, as a result, calls of subscribers living near the airport were made at high roaming tariffs, as voice services and data transfer services on the aircraft are quite expensive.
A strong signal of airborne equipment is able to provide the entire territory of Bina settlement with mobile communication.
"The signal is so powerful that it is actually able to "kill" the signal of the terrestrial cellular network,” the source said. “The problem could have been avoided if the pilots did not forget to turn off the on-board equipment in time when landing the aircraft."
Earlier, mobile communication services were available on board of about 30 airlines (including Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC (AZAL).
On board mobile communication was regulated through the stations of Swiss OnAir company and Norwegian AeroMobile company, through which subscribers could make and receive calls, send and receive messages, use the data transfer service during the flight.