FCC, FAA Still Don't Want Cell Phones on Planes

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."

I don't want to listen to my neighbor on a plane

[OYAHHH]

> US carriers might just have to give into demand

Well, as far as I'm concerned, they already have. I don't want some blabber-mouth next to me trying to yell over the jet's noise for a cross country trip.

Now, if they want to instigate a cell-phone free area at the front or rear of the plane like they used to do with smoking versus no-smoking sections then I say go-for-it...

Re:I don't want cell phones on planes.

[bcat24]

I couldn't agree more. Don't get me wrong, I love my cell phone as much as the next guy. It's just that there are some places where non-emergency phone calls are inappropriate. Plane flights are bad enough without people chatting on their cell for hours on end.

In-flight wifi, on the other hand, sounds far more promising. I can imagine it being used for some really awesome things, like movie rentals that work directly with your laptop.

The concern is..

[esocid]

I can't remember who I remember hearing this from, but during some flight I recalled some flight personnel talking about it and the reason behind it being that not all cell phones are alike and not all plane equipment is alike. The testing needed to be completely sure that there wouldn't be any sort of interference would be horrendously laborious, not to mention that something new comes out just about every month. I can't vouch that this is absolutely true, but I do see where they are coming from.
Plus like one of the above posts said, I don't want Mr. "I'm an important asshat" blabbing on his bluetooth earpiece while I'm trying to sleep. People don't have common sense so let's just leave it at that.

Talking of Non-Talking

[DaveInAustin]

Unfortunately, it's probably only a matter of time. Since we don't have smoking sections anymore, how about a quiet section. Amtrak [amtrak.com] and the TGV have a quiet cars. Smoke travels almost as well as sound. And if noise really troubles you, pick up some noise-blocking headphones [etymotic.com] or just some earplugs [hearos.com]. Just don't wind up like this guy [nytimes.com]

Auugh! No!

[NotBornYesterday]

Make the damn cell phone addicts pay extra to fly cell-class!

The Real Reason

[amplt1337]

But if we allow cell phones on domestic flights, who'd use the $5-a-minute credit-card-op plastic phone from the seat in front of you?

Re:I don't want cell phones on planes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is a bunch of people talking on phones any different than a bunch of people talking to each other? People talking = people talking. Or are you just regurgitating a lame argument you heard somewhere?

Re:I don't want cell phones on planes.

[mcmonkey]

When people talk on cellphones they are LOUDER for some reason. Most people like to yell at their phones.

Cell phones do not give the same feedback as most land line phones.

When you talk into a regular phone, your voice repeats back through your earpiece. This not only provides feedback on the clarity of your voice, it also provides psychological assurance that you can be heard.

When you talk into a cell phone, you voice is not repeated back to you. Since you have a hard time hearing yourself (compared to when talking on a regular phone) you naturally speak louder to compensate.

There is also the issue of the cell phone on the other side. Think about it, and you will probably catch yourself doing it automatically--when the person you are speaking with is using a cell phone, you add a little volume, presuming your audience does not have as clear a connection than they would have using a land line.

The solution is, when speaking, to concentrate on what you are saying and not how you hear your own voice. You can't rely on the feedback from your cell phone to regulate your volume. You have to assume the other person would tell you to speak up if they can't hear you.

Re:The concern is..

[Sandbags]

The issue was with old, pre-CDMA cell phones and extremely old avionics, like those found in small and mid-sized non-comercial aircraft about 40 years ago.

Modern cockpits have been retrofitted with systems that shield from various types of this radiation and signal interference, and the older touchy meters are only found in old, personally owned aircraft today. Also, not a single one of those old phones that DID cause the interference is in use today since those old networks were dismantled years ago.

This is what happens when people who do not understand technology are allowed to make decisions for people that do.

People forget to turn on or off their cell phones on every flight I've been on for years... I'll hear voicemail chimes start going off about a mile from the ground, typically about 10 minutes or so before landing. I'll also catch kids whipping out phones to play games in-flight, phones that I know for certain don't support radio-off airline operation modes.

Not one plane has complained about avionic radio interference. With tens of thousands of people in the air every day, and at least one person on every flight forgetting to turn it off (or leaving it on on purpose), we'd have heard about an issue.

If the medical industry was held to the standards of the FAA, we'd just now be seeing asprin appear on store shelves for the first time.... 45 billion test cases, not one single failure, but ya never know... we need to do more testing....

Re:I don't want to listen to my neighbor on a plan

[gad_zuki!]

If you use that on a plane dont be surprised if you end up in prison. I seriously doubt those things are 100% safe when it comes to avionics.

Re:Mythbusters episode covered this

[Bagheera]

I remember the Mythbusters episode in question, and the conditions they were able to get "significant interference" in was Grant's mockup cockpit. While he put all the pieces together, he didn't put them together with the same levels of shielding that a real aircraft would have. When they moved to a borrowed corporate jet, they got no results as you pointed out. The difference being that an aircraft's controls and instruments are well shielded from stray RF interference.

I seem to remember their conclusion was based more on FAA regulations than anything else.

The reality is people leave their cell phones on all the damn time on aircraft. Phone signals are notorious for getting into nearby speakers and headphones, and I can't count the number of times I've heard the distinct "Dit-Di-Dit-Di-Dit" tones coming through my earphones. Did the plane fall out of the sky? Of course not! But the commercial airline and aircraft manufacturing industries are understandably conservative when it comes to safety. The type acceptance already included a broad range of tests to make sure the aircraft would reject unwanted interference, but they'd rather be safe than very, very, sorry.

Unfortunately, they already bend over for the Cellular Phone industry as it is. Why else would it be OK to use a cell phone on the ground a moment after landing, but NOT ok to use an iPod? The phone's orders of magnitude more likely to cause interference, yet the airline knows it won't. The difference here being that the cell system's happy to accomodate a bunch of people on a taxiing jet, while they have issues dealing with one crossing cell sites every 30 seconds.

Honestly, I'm perfectly happy to see the ban remain in place as long as possible. It's bad enough dealing with the clowns on phones trying to get in last minute calls before takeoff and all trying to talk over each other. Letting them do it in flight is just asking for -someone- to see if a cell phone can be jammed so far down someone's throat it comes out their butt.

Cheers,
Bagheera

Re:I don't want cell phones on planes.

[Chasuk]

I understand your sentiment, but I still disagree with you. First, for the people who are unable to regulate themselves, we unfortunately sometimes have to enforce courtesy. There is precedent, even. Talk too loudly for too long in a cinema, and they will remove you. This is solely because you are irritating other customers, not for health or safety. Second, my level of agitation would be nearly homicidal if I had to suffer some inconsiderate idiot's conversation for an entire flight.I would consider it an aural assault, truthfully. I can imagine a physical alteration if the flight lasted long enough. Label it trespassing in my aural space. We use similar sonic attacks to torture alleged terrorists, and, without any exaggeration, being subjected to someone's cellphone conversation for a prolonged period would be torture to me.

Re:I don't want cell phones on planes.

[Martin Blank]

The airlines looking to put in WiFi are explicitly blocking VoIP traffic using proxies, specifically to save bandwidth that would otherwise be chewed up by people talking. VoIP may not be a major strain on most land links, but it can be much less bursty than web traffic, and since at least some of the systems being examined will use satellites, it will be a more precious resources on the planes.

Re:I don't want cell phones on planes.

[gnick]

Or retrofit your building with a Faraday Cage (some theaters are doing this with new construction).

I'm on board 100%, but I'd really like to see announcements before I enter an establishment that's passively blocking cell phone/pager signals. If my need to receive a page/call outweighs my need to see a movie, I'd like to know my options ahead of time. Some people need to be on call and should be notified if they wander out of range unexpectedly.