FCC, FAA Still Don't Want Cell Phones on Planes 300
mattnyc99 writes "Last month we learned that the UK has approved in-flight mobile, effective immediately. Popular Mechanics has a follow-up on why the phones-on-planes ban is here to stay in the United States. Statements from the FCC and FAA confirm that any chance to overturn it remains dead on arrival — even though new "pico-cell" networks cut down interference with phones on the ground. American Airlines is looking like it will have onboard Wi-Fi within the next couple months, just the same. PM does note, however, that if the European mobile rollout is a success, US carriers might just have to give into demand."
Re:I don't want to listen to my neighbor on a plan (Score:5, Informative)
Mythbusters episode covered this (Score:5, Informative)
There was a Mythbusters episode (season 4 episode 6) where they got serious interference under test conditions with actual airplane instruments, but were unable to interfere with the instruments on an actual plane. They concluded that even though they couldn't create a hazardous situation, it would be an extremely bad idea to take the risk, since it is plausible and there's only one way to find out!
They also made a good point that air travel would be prohibitively expensive if insurance companies required airlines to verify that every component of every plane in their fleets were impervious to cel phone interference. That makes the $5 plane phone seem a lot less sinister.
Re:Technical difficulties (Score:2, Informative)
Perhaps thinking of them as repeaters is more effective. All of the phones on the plane connect to that one tower (pico cell), and then sends all of the communications to the ground.
Re:I hate loud stupid Cellphone users (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The concern is.. (Score:4, Informative)
NASA/CR-2001-210866, Personal Electronic Devices and Their Interference With Aircraft Systems [nasa.gov]