Are helicopters the new cellphone towers?

[rangerrebew]

Are helicopters the new cellphone towers?
By: Nathan Strout 

To say cellphone coverage on the battlefield isn’t reliable is a bit of an understatement. But what if the military could bring a cell tower to the battlefield?

Hughes Network Systems announced Aug. 20 a new technology product that it believes can do just that: essentially turn a helicopter into a mobile, airborne cell tower.

By integrating LTE technology developed by Virtual Network Communications with the Hughes HeloSat Solution, a system that provides Beyond Line of Sight communications on rotary-wing aircraft, Hughes said it is able to transform a helicopter into a temporary, mobile cell tower.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2019/08/29/are-helicopters-the-new-cellphone-towers/

[240B]

Helicopters? Why? We already have unmanned glider drones which can serve this purpose. They circle the battlefield and act as a cellphone tower. They can move with the troops and go wherever the battle goes. With current and advancing technology, these things can stay aloft for days or even weeks.

A helicopter would be a very short term solution.

[thackney]

Helicopters? Why? We already have unmanned glider drones which can serve this purpose. They circle the battlefield and act as a cellphone tower. They can move with the troops and go wherever the battle goes. With current and advancing technology, these things can stay aloft for days or even weeks.

A helicopter would be a very short term solution.

From the article:

The technology can be installed on a helicopter or a drone, making either an airborne cell tower with cellular coverage extending tens of kilometers. According to Hughes, the network can support more than 100 users at one time.