CNN/Money One for credit card only hard offer form at $9.95 One for risk-free form at $14.95 w/ $9.95 upsell  
Technology > Personal Tech
graphic
Cell phone calls in flight?
Regulators eye revising rules to allow you to make, receive cellular calls on commercial flights.
December 9, 2004: 3:05 PM EST
By Chris Isidore, CNN/Money senior writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Federal regulators are set to begin discussions later this month on allowing the use of cell phones on commercial airline flights.

 QUICK VOTE  
Should cell phone use be allowed on commercial flights?
  Yes
  No
  Unsure

   View results

The Federal Communications Commission said that at its Dec. 15 meeting it will discuss possible revisions to rules prohibiting cell phone use on commercial flights. That's the first step of the process needed to lift the ban.

Cell phone use has been banned due to concerns about how it could affect an aircraft's navigation. And cell phones sometimes have trouble working when the plane is at cruising altitude because phone towers aren't built to project their signals that high.

The FCC rules have less to do with the effects on a plane's navigation than concerns that cell phones on planes could wreak havoc with cell phone systems on the ground.

While the FCC will start considering the issue next week, don't expect a decision anytime soon. The agency will have a lengthy review period, and according to one FCC spokesperson, this review period will last well into next year. Ultimately however, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will make its own decision.

The FAA says there's no proof that cell phone use on commercial flights is safe and is currently conducting its own studies. The issue is whether the signals from the phones will interfere with the pilot's ability to navigate the plane.

The RTCA, an organization that advises the FAA on technical matters, has been researching this issue. Their final report is scheduled for 2006. That report will then factor in the FAA decision, therefore a decision before 2006 would be unlikely.

But airlines eager to attract business flyers have been looking for ways to keep customers connected to the ground while in flight, including Internet and cell phones.

In July, American Airlines (Research) and cell phone maker Qualcomm (Research) held a demonstration in which in-cabin calls were made using commercially available cell phones through a small cellular base on board that connected to worldwide terrestrial phone networks.

The passengers on the plane could both receive and make calls while on the flight.

Among those making calls on that two-hour flight were government officials, executives of the two companies and reporters.

American Airlines said at that time that regular commercial application of the tested technology was at least two years away.

But the idea of having cell phones allowed on flights worried some flyers, who said they dreaded being next to someone having a loud and prolonged conversation.

"Can you imagine being in the middle seat between two business people making phone calls for 3 hours?" said Les Glass in an e-mail to CNN/Money. "What are the airlines and the FCC thinking?"

One reader suggested that to allow cell phones increased the risk of violence on board planes due to confrontations between passengers. Others suggested that cell phones only be allowed in a segregated area of the cabin.  Top of page




  More on TECHNOLOGY
Honda teams up with GM on self-driving cars
The internet industry is suing California over its net neutrality law
Bumble to expand to India with the help of actress Priyanka Chopra
  TODAY'S TOP STORIES
7 things to know before the bell
SoftBank and Toyota want driverless cars to change the world
Aston Martin falls 5% in its London IPO




graphic graphic

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.