<s>
Air-ground	B-Application
radiotelephone	I-Application
service	I-Application
is	O
a	O
system	O
which	O
allows	O
voice	O
calls	O
and	O
other	O
communication	O
services	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
from	O
an	O
aircraft	O
to	O
either	O
a	O
satellite	O
or	O
land	O
based	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Licensees	B-Application
may	O
offer	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
telecommunications	O
services	O
to	O
passengers	O
and	O
others	O
on	O
aircraft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Commercial	O
aviation	O
air-ground	B-Application
radiotelephone	I-Application
service	I-Application
licensees	B-Application
operate	O
in	O
the	O
800	O
MHz	O
band	O
and	O
can	O
provide	O
communication	O
services	O
to	O
all	O
aviation	O
markets	O
,	O
including	O
commercial	O
,	O
governmental	O
,	O
and	O
private	O
aircraft.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
AT&T	O
Corporation	O
abandoned	O
its	O
800MHz	O
air-ground	O
offering	O
in	O
2005	O
,	O
and	O
Verizon	B-Device
AIRFONE	I-Device
(	O
formerly	O
GTE	O
Airfone	B-Device
)	O
is	O
scheduled	O
for	O
decommissioning	O
in	O
late	O
2008	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
FCC	O
has	O
re-auctioned	O
Verizon	B-Application
's	O
spectrum	O
(	O
see	O
below	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
General	O
aviation	O
air-ground	B-Application
radiotelephone	I-Application
service	I-Application
licensees	B-Application
operate	O
in	O
the	O
450	O
MHz	O
band	O
and	O
can	O
provide	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
telecommunications	O
services	O
to	O
private	O
aircraft	O
such	O
as	O
small	O
single	O
engine	O
planes	O
and	O
corporate	O
jets.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
six	O
,	O
only	O
three	O
commenced	O
operations	O
,	O
and	O
only	O
one	O
persisted	O
into	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
now	O
known	O
as	O
Verizon	B-Device
Airfone	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
AirFone	B-Device
commenced	O
its	O
service	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
starting	O
with	O
first-class	O
under	O
experimental	O
licenses	O
;	O
the	O
FCC	O
's	O
formal	O
allocation	O
was	O
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AirFone	B-Device
handsets	O
were	O
gradually	O
extended	O
to	O
include	O
one	O
unit	O
in	O
each	O
row	O
of	O
seats	O
in	O
economy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
FCC	O
filing	O
in	O
2005	O
,	O
the	O
agency	O
noted	O
that	O
4,500	O
aircraft	O
have	O
AirFone	B-Device
service	O
,	O
and	O
quoted	O
Verizon	B-Device
AirFone	I-Device
's	O
president	O
stating	O
in	O
an	O
article	O
in	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
that	O
only	O
two	O
to	O
three	O
people	O
per	O
flight	O
make	O
a	O
call	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Verizon	B-Application
added	O
stock	O
tickers	O
and	O
limited	O
information	O
services	O
,	O
but	O
those	O
had	O
little	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
,	O
Verizon	B-Application
partnered	O
with	O
Tenzing	O
Communications	O
to	O
offer	O
very	O
low-speed	O
email	O
using	O
an	O
on-board	O
proxy	B-Application
server	I-Application
and	O
limited	O
live	O
instant	O
messaging	O
at	O
rates	O
of	O
64	O
to	O
128	O
kbit/s	O
on	O
United	O
Airlines	O
and	O
two	O
other	O
carriers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
10	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
FCC	O
began	O
Auction	O
65	O
,	O
which	O
sold	O
off	O
the	O
4MHz	O
of	O
spectrum	O
over	O
which	O
radiotelephone	O
calls	O
were	O
made	O
,	O
and	O
required	O
AirFone	B-Device
to	O
revise	O
its	O
equipment	O
within	O
two	O
years	O
of	O
the	O
auction	O
's	O
conclusion	O
on	O
June	O
2	O
,	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
the	O
narrowband	O
approach	O
,	O
with	O
dedicated	O
uplink	O
and	O
downlink	O
for	O
each	O
call	O
,	O
Verizon	B-Application
is	O
required	O
to	O
move	O
its	O
operations	O
to	O
a	O
1MHz	O
slice	O
which	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
provide	O
substantially	O
higher	O
call	O
volume	O
and	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AirFone	B-Device
received	O
a	O
non-renewable	O
license	O
to	O
share	O
that	O
1MHz	O
until	O
2010	O
using	O
vertical	O
polarization	O
with	O
the	O
winner	O
of	O
License	O
D	O
in	O
Auction	O
65	O
,	O
LiveTV	O
,	O
a	O
division	O
of	O
the	O
airline	O
JetBlue	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
not	O
announced	O
its	O
plans	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
auction	O
.	O
</s>
