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1. INTRODUCTION
Air passengers are required by the law to switch off their mobile phones on board any flight . This requirement has been imposed due to two reasons. First, signals emitted by the mobile phone interfere with Air Traffic Control (ATC) signals, undermining the safety of the flight. Second, a mobile at such an altitude connects to multiple base stations simultaneously, clogging the resources of the ground network. one novel solution developed based on the integration of diverse communication links: Bluetooth, Cellular Network (GSM/IS-95), PSTN and Air-to-ground connection. Our solution enables the user to remain connected inflight, while solving the above two critical issues. The switch over from the cellular network to our in-flight Bluetooth network does not require any user initiation or change of the mobile handset. Bluetooth, due to its low power, short range and fast frequency hopping presents negligible interference to ATC signals. When the passenger enters the plane, call forwarding is set up from the cellular network to our Ground Switching Center (GSC) and the hazardous GSM emissions of the mobile phone are automatically switched off. All voice (or data) is received at the GSC and transferred through an air-to-ground link to a Bluetooth Airplane Gateway (BTAG) in the plane. Data received at the BTAG is finally transmitted over an in-flight Bluetooth network to the passenger. We have implemented a Bluetooth enabled GSM phone, (on a laptop using a GSM modem and a Bluetooth kit), the Bluetooth Airplane Gateway and the Ground Switching Center (using a phone modem for connecting to the PSTN). The automatic setup up of various communication hops, call routing and transmission of voice over these links has been demonstrated. The system provides a unique and useful service and is perceived to be highly marketable.
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Ground Switching Center Air-to-ground link PSTN link Bluetooth Network Bluetooth Airplane Gateway 4)Our Bluetooth Airplane Gateway (BTAG) detects a mobile phone as soon as it enters the airplane. The BTAG instructs the mobile phone to send a message to the cellular network (GSM), asking it to forward all incoming calls for the mobile to an assigned number at our Ground Switching Center (GSC). This is done just before take-off. The cellular network connection is switched off, resulting in all hazardous emissions from the handset being turned off. The handset is now connected through a Bluetooth link to the BTAG, which is in turn connected to the GSC over an approved air-to-ground link .All incoming and outgoing calls are connected through the GSC to the BTAG, which forwards them to the mobile phone, thus allowing the user to make or receive calls on the usual handset. To execute the above steps, our system needs to perform the following tasks: 1) Automatic detection of mobile phones entering the airplane and exchange of specific instructions for call forwarding and GSM switch off. 2) Establishment of a reliable communication link across diverse networks: the cellular network (GSM), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the in-flight Bluetooth network. 3) Transfer of Voice Data across this composite communication channel. 4) Authentication to provide security and prevent misuse.
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Figure 2: Overview of the Interaction between the Mobile Unit and the BTAG/GSC unit
Receiving Call:
Call Arrive Signal BTAG-GSC Call Accept Voice Call Received
Making Call:
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Figure 3: System Block Diagram. The different boxes show the various modules which are part of the system. The dotted boxes show the physical units while the colored ones show logical entities. BT AG DEPT. OF TELECOMMUNICATION, PACE Page 6
1) Mobile unit
This unit emulates a Bluetooth enabled mobile handset. The unit consists of a laptop connected to mobile telephony hardware through a serial port, and to the provided Bluetooth kit through USB (Figure 4). The mobile telephony hardware consists of a GSM modem with its antenna and a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. A headset interface is also available on the GSM modem for voice to be directly sent over GSM.
We have used the Wavecom WM0D2 GSM modem, capable of data transfer as well as voice transfer (input of voice being from the modem headset) [4]. The detailed specifications of the Wavecom WM0D2 modem are presented in Table 1. The permission for using this extra hardware was obtained as per CSIDC guidelines. USB RS232 Antenna Sim Audio Headset interface DEPT. OF TELECOMMUNICATION, PACE Page 7
2) In Flight BTAG
This unit consists of a PC connected to the provided Bluetooth kit through USB. We have utilized the USB interface rather than the serial interface since the provided API for the USB could be directly used. The BTAG handles the network of Bluetooth ports installed within the flight. It also takes care of routing voice data to the appropriate mobile phone through the corresponding Bluetooth port. The BTAG is connected to the GSC over the air-to-ground link.
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Figure 5: Combined GSC and BTAG USB RS232 To PSTN Phone modem PC
Implementation notes:
1) In our current implementation, the Ground Switching Center (GSC) and the In Flight BTAG reside on the same PC. The air-to-ground links are proprietary and hence inaccessible. Therefore, this link has been collapsed and the BTAG and the GSC have been implemented as two applications on the same PC as shown in Figure 5. 2) We have implemented an in-flight Bluetooth network consisting of one BTAG and one Bluetooth enabled mobile phone.
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1)Bluetooth Module
The Bluetooth module is the main software program from which other modules are invoked. The functions of this module are: 1) Automatic connection establishment and maintenance 2) Sequential invoking of various modules required for the integrated system operation. 3) Voice transfer over ACL Bluetooth link The Bluetooth module on the BTAG continuously scans the environment for Bluetooth enabled devices. All Bluetooth devices that come in range of the BTAG will capture one or more of the INQUIRY messages being broadcast by the BTAG and may reply to it. This module handles the replies sequentially and learns the Bluetooth device address of every device that replies. An Asynchronous Connectionless (ACL) link is then established with the devices that reply. Service Discovery (SDP) is used to determine whether the device is a mobile handset and if so whether it wishes to avail the SkyMobile service. A two-way authentication procedure is then started to accomplish the following: 1) Enable the mobile to check that the BTAG is a genuine device authorized to instruct it. 2) Enable the BTAG to determine that the mobile handset belongs to a passenger on flight. 3) Allot a call forwarding number to the mobile handset The Authentication Tool described later, is called by the Bluetooth module to perform this procedure. Once authentication is over, the Bluetooth Module invokes the GSM module. The GSM module implements call forwarding and then switches off the GSM stack . Thereafter, all communication is routed via the in-flight Bluetooth network, eliminating hazardous interference with ATC signals. The Bluetooth module thus establishes the various communication links as outlined in the system overview. The Bluetooth module also handles the transmission of voice data across the Bluetooth network. At the BTAG-GSC end the Bluetooth module interacts with the PSTN module to playout received voice data on the phone line and acquire data to be transmitted from the PSTN line. At the Mobile Unit, the Bluetooth module interacts with the microphone and the speaker through the Voice Tool to record and playout voice data. The Bluetooth modules at both ends spawn the independent recorder application of the Voice Tool which provides the voice data to DEPT. OF TELECOMMUNICATION, PACE Page 10
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Security Issues: The scheme developed is secure against hostile attacks. Data
exchange between the two Bluetooth ports is through a proprietary packet format, which acts as the first level of security. The generic key and authentication key, which only the BTAG and passengers know, act as a second tier of security. The contents of the packet are processed only when a matching key is received. This prevents the passenger's phone from revealing its phone number to any arbitrary Bluetooth port or executing GSM commands issued by an unauthenticated Bluetooth port. These keys are generated using algorithms known only to the concerned airline authorities. Finally, the keys expire as soon as the passenger alights, thereby ruling out misuse of the key after the flight.
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5.CONCLUSION
The SkyMobile system integrates disparate communication networks to provide the user with seamless connectivity on her usual mobile while traveling by air. The prototype developed by us has been able to successfully integrate the GSM, PSTN and Bluetooth networks to achieve the specified design objectives. Seamless switchover from GSM to Bluetooth, GSM call reroute to a preassigned PSTN number, and voice communication over Bluetooth have been demonstrated. The system could be further modified to make it more robust and eliminate some of our design compromises. A few such areas for improvement are: 1) The ACL link used for voice communication should be replaced by an SCO link, which is prescribed in the Bluetooth Specifications [5] for transfer of synchronous data. 2) The airplane BTAG should be extended to a scatternet with multiple users and Bluetooth access points in the airplane, to allow several active calls at any given time. 3) The Bluetooth application currently demonstrated on the laptop needs to be ported to a Bluetooth enabled GSM phone. Further, value added services offered by the GSM network, such as Fax, SMS may be emulated and telephone SS7 signaling over Bluetooth may be incorporated. Our solution benefits the users by enhancing the safety of airways. The solution also provides automatic switch-over of mobile phones from the cellular DEPT. OF TELECOMMUNICATION, PACE Page 20
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6.BIBILOGRAPHY
[1] CFR Title 47, Part 22, Subpart H, Section 22.925, Cellular Radio Service Prohibition on airborne operation of cellular telephones;FAA Advisory Circular 91.21-1, Use of Portable Electronic Devices Aboard Aircraft.: www.fcc.gov [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Connexion: www.mobilecommstechnology.com/projects/connexion/ Globalstar, Qualcomm alliance: in-flight broadband access: www.qualcomm.com/globalstar/bp/news/ Wavecom WM0D2, GSM modem specification: www.wavecom.com/showroom/specification/wm0d2.html Bluetooth Core and Profiles specifications, v1.0b http://www.bluetooth.com/developer/specification/specification.asp Microsoft Developer Network, www.msdn.microsoft.com Bluetooth PC Reference Stack by Ericcson: Users Manual. WM2A GSM Module Specifications driven by AT commands: WISMO documentation.
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