European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has signed a deal to give passengers of its new superjumbo A380 the option to make calls with their cell phones or surf the web.

The agreement, with Geneva-based OnAir, hopes to keep prices competitive, with international calls at $2.00 to $2.50 per minute, and text messages costing about 50 cents to send or receive.

Users with roaming capabilities will be able to make and receive calls through a base station within the airplane. Unfortunately, it will only use GSM technology, the main European system, so users will not be able to use the phones in North America and Asia, where GSM is not as popular.

Cell phone usage on U.S. flights will not be likely for some time. The FCC only recently agreed to consider ending the ban. However the FAA won't make any decisions until it gets back results from a study it commissioned, sometime next year; concerning conflicts between airborne calls and ground usage, and interference to navigation and electrical systems.