Cell phone coverage in flight

[IFlyRC]

I was looking at the theoretical ranges of cell towers, and it made me wonder what it was like in the real world (i.e. cross-country or shorter hops). Do you guys ever use your cell phones/data connection in flight? If so, how often do you run into "dead zones" or connection difficulties?

[CTLSi]

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[dstclair]

Cell antenna are pointed downward so the higher you go the less reliable the signal. YMMV but you generally have good coverage at 3000' AGL and below. By the time you hit 5000' AGL the signal all but disappears in rural areas. You may have better luck in metro areas, though.

[Flocker]

YMMV but you generally have good coverage at 3000' AGL and below.

I've found this to be true in most areas of the southeast. (Bose A20 Bluetooth phone connectivity works great in the air)

[Jack Tyler]

"...it made me wonder what [cell phone coverage] was like in the real world."

There really is no definitive answer to your question. First, cell towers aren't all evenly spaced checkerboard fashion in all parts of the country. E.g. it's common to find signs out west that say 'cell phone pull-out ahead' since reliable access isn't available even on the ground. Beyond that, it depends on what you're trying to do with the cell phone. The most 'forgiving' option of communicating, assuming your phone shows a signal at all but also assuming it's weak, is sending a text message. The 3G/LTE kind of communication we're normally accustomed to on the ground requires more bandwidth for a voice call or data exchange. Even an iPhone's 'iMessage' transmission might not work since it uses that higher bandwidth, in which case we iPhone users can choose the alternative 'text' messaging option the iPhone offers. There are probably other performance variables that relate to the towers and phone capabilities, but the ones I'm mentioning have been things we've noticed when flying around the U.S.

[AJChenMPH]

Only thing to add to what's already been said -- I was able to get a BBM out to my wife (yeah, we're still antiquated like that ) at 5,500' MSL/3,700' AGL on my last solo cross-country just to let her know I was on my way home...emails/texts/BBMs don't seem to be a huge issue, but I haven't tried a phone call yet.

[IFlyRC]

There really is no definitive answer to your question.

Exactly. I was curious about what you all have experienced. Not so much a steady statistical baseline, but antidotes in as many forms. I like to dabble with iOS/android/windows phone app development and I thought it might be fun to incorporate it into a GA-specific (or applicable) "app" just for the heck of it. It sounds like a data connection might be available at least for part of the flight.