dazdaz1 The complaint from baggersup was:
... the new mobile phone service on board.
So I took it to mean the carrier supplied, aircraft installed mobile service. This means that it is not using a pax mobile attempting to connect direct with a ground based mast - which is indeed illegal and stupid.
The forum FAQ lists three threads on the subject:
WHY CAN'T I USE MY MOBILE PHONE WHEN I WANT?
and I dare say that one one those talks about this kind of service.