FCC Kills Plan to Allow Mobile Phone Conversations on Flights

One of the primary reasons, AFAIK, that they banned mobile phones being switched on on flights due to concerns of their signals interfering with aircraft equipment. Whether that actually have any substance I don't know, but I always put it down to safety concerns, not convenience and respect of the passengers. But this is using the normal mobile GSM bands, not wifi or satellite.

Some flights already have wifi connection for internet though, and it seems to be getting more and more widespread. No idea on the charges involved for other airlines, but when I was on Emirates, the charges were cheaper than some of what ISPs on the ground were charging for their mobile data (I think it was $1 for 500MB something like that, WAY more than enough for your inflight needs, especially for the cost involved).
 
lcpiper said:
Just load the planes up with a NAS and let us stream from their available shows or play a game on our phones and tablets, read our books or ebooks. The only time this kind of entertainment plays out is on really long flights, like the ones I had to endure to fly to Korea and back, 12 to 16 hours and entertainment just looses out to your need to get out of the damned plane all together.
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Most American Airlines(airline of "choice") flights allow you stream an assortment of movies, tv shows and music to your device without paying for the dodgy internet. You just need to have their app installed. Quality is solid too. I just watched the Accountant last week on the way back from the West Coast.
 
nilepez said:
No it's not. Those phones are long gone and if you use your phone on the plane, I'm certain you won't be getting to use your anytime minutes in the friendly skies. Cell towers don't reach planes once they're up in the air. Since we have competing tech, I'd assume that they'd use VOIP for phone calls and you'd probably be paying at least 50 cents a minute. That said, you could probably make a call now if you paid for data service. I know my sprint phone works over WiFi, but I've never paid for internet on a plane (I have music and videos...don't want/need data).
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Yes and no. Cell towers and our phones typically work in the microwave freq range. The only reason cell towers stop working after a couple miles on land is because of curvature of the earth. You can connect to a cell tower from a couple miles up. BUT it will suffer degradation issues from the same elements that affect microwave transmissions on the ground. (Minus curvature of the earth)
 
chenw said:
One of the primary reasons, AFAIK, that they banned mobile phones being switched on on flights due to concerns of their signals interfering with aircraft equipment. Whether that actually have any substance I don't know, but I always put it down to safety concerns, not convenience and respect of the passengers. But this is using the normal mobile GSM bands, not wifi or satellite.

Some flights already have wifi connection for internet though, and it seems to be getting more and more widespread. No idea on the charges involved for other airlines, but when I was on Emirates, the charges were cheaper than some of what ISPs on the ground were charging for their mobile data (I think it was $1 for 500MB something like that, WAY more than enough for your inflight needs, especially for the cost involved).
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Partially true. They are EMF devices. Place a cell phone on top of a speaker and give it a call. You'll hear a "ta-da-da-ta-da-da" out of the speaker right before your phone rings. It's affecting the voice coil drivers in your speaker. NOW imagine that effect on naviation equipment that requires knowing where the north pole is. That said, most equipment is far away enough and isolated enough for this not to happen. There is built in rudamentry protection against EMF (braided wiring) because that high up, broadband radiation is naturally higher. The FCC and FFA declared them safe. But who knows for sure with all the different phones and radiation patterns that are out there. It always does linger in the back of my mind when I see someone on the phone near the back of the plane, and near the wings where there numerous sensors sensitive to EMF spikes.

I'm not a signal specialist. But I do have a degree in engineering.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
Yes and no. Cell towers and our phones typically work in the microwave freq range. The only reason cell towers stop working after a couple miles on land is because of curvature of the earth. You can connect to a cell tower from a couple miles up. BUT it will suffer degradation issues from the same elements that affect microwave transmissions on the ground. (Minus curvature of the earth)
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They also use directional antennas so as to maximize efficiency, no need to waste energy transmitting up, always some level that goes that way but yea, not focused. Also giant grounded can we sit in isn't doing us any favors either.
 
virtualheretic said:
This would be like the TSA making a new rule saying I can't wear a yellow shirt on a plane because people don't like to look at it...
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Except you can always close your eyes or look away from your shirt. You can't close your ears, and earplugs only muffle sounds not mute them.
 
I hook my phone up to the in-flight WiFi and make calls using my Vonage app all the time. I've yet to see anyone give a shit. Then again, most of my calls are only a dozen words long or less.
 
FFS, no, commercial aircraft aren't in the 90 db range you silly twit- OSHA would crap all over that pile- you can't even work in an environment that loud without substantial hearing protection. (And no, (holds two fingers a little apart) this isn't 8 inches either).
https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/1854


And as for the interior of a car? 85dB? Srsly? What're you driving, a YUGO? With the windows DOWN? Crikey. Land of nitwits.

http://www.auto-decibel-db.com/
 
DigitalGriffin said:
Yes and no. Cell towers and our phones typically work in the microwave freq range. The only reason cell towers stop working after a couple miles on land is because of curvature of the earth. You can connect to a cell tower from a couple miles up. BUT it will suffer degradation issues from the same elements that affect microwave transmissions on the ground. (Minus curvature of the earth)
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But who is going to invest in the infrastructure for at least 2 transmissions (CDMA, GSM) throughout the country? It makes more sense to just do VOIP over WiFi. That infrastructure already exists on many planes. That said, I don't know hwat happened to all the sites that serviced those old plane phones.
 
I have a hard enough time hearing my wife who's sitting next to me much less worrying about what someone a few rows over is talking about, of course some of that is the stuffiness that plugs my ears (it feels like).... of course that fucker with the ear piercing shrill of a baby crying can still be heard as if I was in a quiet room
 
Wifi calling is becoming more and more common with US carriers. Any T-Mobile users with a phone from the carrier likely has this feature without even knowing it. I know I was shocked as shit the first time my phone rang in-flight when my phone was in airplane mode with wifi turned on. Good luck trying to show the average cell phone user how to turn that off once the feature is enabled on your line.

That's the problem with regulations. Unless the cover every scenario, they just make things worse. Unless it says "all calls, regardless of cellular, VOIP, wifi, etc", you're putting the flight crew in a precarious position. "Excuse me sir.... is that a wifi call, or a cellular call"? If they're not asking that, who's to say it's not just some asshole who refuses to put their phone in airplane mode and is actually catching a tower signal?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the original rule stemmed from the FCC because of the concern for interference, and the only reason they were considering changing the rules were because they could not prove that cellular traffic affects an aircraft's systems at all. If wifi is ok, and it allows a call, they can't block the call on a courtesy basis, as that was never grounds for blocking "calls" I'm the first place.

Actually, I just looked it up. It is absolutely about interference and not about courtesy, restricting the devices due to interference:

"Paragraph (b)(5) of 14 CFR 91.21 - Any other portable electronic device that the operator of the aircraft has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on which it is to be used."

Point: it is up to the airlines.

Personally, I would never talk on a phone in a plane unless I absolutely had to... and I spend most of my waking hours taking work calls. But the FCC nor the airlines cannot tell you not to make a call unless it is over a frequency/medium they have not permitted the use of during a flight. In that event, you get into the situation where you may have to defend your right to make a call in any of the manifold manners in which you can make calls today (wifi, VOIP, Skype, FaceTime) against an authority who says you can't.

Not cool.
 
kju1 said:
My measurements state to the contrary. I take noise cancelling headsets with me for just this reason. Bottom line is there is ZERO reason to not allow the phone calls.
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Then your "measurements" were shit. At cruise altitude cabin noise in an airliner ranges from 70-85 dB.
 
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