FCC Chairman to End Plans to Allow In-Flight Cellphone Calls

[ChrisCW11]

Good. Can you imagine sitting next to someone talking loudly on their phone the entire flight? Now multiply that across an entire plane.

Yes, because on every flight I have ever flown I have never heard people talking loudly to each other over the plane engines, babies crying, children laughing or yelling, or people pushing the flight attendant button numerous times just to complain about something.

I've never had to use my noise cancelling headphones on a plane, ever.

[sarcasm]

 

[err404]

Doubt this will deter most people, they'll just use their phones out of sight.

Which I'd also be fine with. Who cares if you are using a phone discreetly. It's the overt loud conversations all of the plane while some people are trying to sleep that most people are annoyed about.

 

[jimbobb24]

I hope they also disallow talking with other passengers because they also disturbs a moment of quiet. And babies on planes should be totally illegal.

This is not science....this is just a preference for moment quiet made into laws. Now no airline can allow it and see what people like.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Fine, so relax the rules only for non-voice cellular data.

How do you plan to get data up at 30,000 feet? Current towers don't reach that height.

Regulations have already been relaxed on non-voice cellular data. As soon as your service provider replaces their network with new towers (each of which takes 2 months to 2 years for approval depending on location across the country) you'll be able to use data in the air.

Let's be honest, that's not going to happen. Additionally, they'd have to build towers in the middle of nowhere which would only service flights overhead as the routes airplanes fly don't match up exactly with highways across the country.

 

[MikeVarney]

The angle being used in the statement from Pai was interesting. The FCC's responsibility should end at the point where it's safe (or not) to use your cell while on a plane. Not if you SHOULD. But if it's safe. Just because the FCC would allow it doesn't mean the airlines couldn't still ban the use our of public decorum. But again, here's the government telling you how you should be behaving.

​

 

[uknowimright]

I'd rather those obnoxious people talk on their phone to whomever they want while I am listening to music instead of trying to annoy me with a personal conversation

but of course it has nothing to do with talking, only simpletons believe that

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

How can anyone come in here and support this? This isn't a ban on talking. It's not even a ban on phone calls. It's only a ban on using the cellular signal so that you'll buy wifi/phone service. If you're so concerned about obnoxious talkers, chime in when that's actually on the table.

What provider has service towers that reach 30,000 ft? Turn your phone on up there right now and tell me how many bars you've got.

 

[jkozlow3]

Also, as flights continue to include WiFi, people will be able to make VOIP calls, FaceTime on flights anyway.

Are there airlines that allow VOIP calls while in-flight? I travel 2-3 times/month and I've never been on an airline that allowed WiFi calls while in flight (thankfully).

 

[jthesssin]

both systems operate on completely different frequencies. There is no possible way for phone calls or data from a cellphone to "interrupt" the signals being sent or received from ground communications to a pilot. Your phone is even required to meet FCC part 15 (This device shall not cause any interference, this device must accept interference, even interference that causes disrupted service, etc., etc) theres a reason phones use a certain set of frequencies, and the AM stations down the road use a certain set of frequencies, and the reason your garage door uses a certain set of frequencies. The FCC purposefully allocated the frequency spectrum to be used by certain people, for certain functions, with NO OVERLAP.

 

[kemal]

So in flight Wi-Fi is OK but cellular data is not. And talking at cell phone, eg Skype, is not OK while talking at SkyPhone is OK? Web browsing not OK. I'm confused. Somehow this will further delay the Mac Pro refresh.

 

[bernuli]

No one should talk on the plane at all, not even to the person next to them. All should sit facing forward

Actually all should sit facing backwards, it is much safer. But for some reason everyone wants to face forward, so thats how the airlines install the seats.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Are there airlines that allow VOIP calls while in-flight? I travel 2-3 times/month and I've never been on an airline that allowed WiFi calls while in flight (thankfully).

The wifi service on most flights would make VoIP very hard. It simply doesn't have the bandwidth. Most require you to agree not to use VoIP in order to be considerate to the others using the wifi and sharing an already slow connection.

 

[gbc204]

I would buy his argument a lot more if people still talked on the phone. There was a huge hubbub in New York when they were first proposing cell phone service on the subway. Now that they have it, who even talks on the phone anymore?
This is purely a money-making decision.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Actually all should sit facing backwards, it is much safer. But for some reason everyone wants to face forward, so thats how the airlines install the seats.

Many get travel sickness when seated backwards. This was an issue with the old station wagons with the rear facing seat in the back.

 

[Floris]

That's your analogy?

Just lowering myself to the same level, because the post response I got was just as stupid.

 

[Z400Racer37]

Loser. He stands only with the other people who think they have the right to command others what they can or cannot do.

 

[Kaibelf]

Why allow laptops, and let people watch videos, why allow them to listen to music on their devices, why allow people to talk to each other sitting next to each other, i am sure a conversation with headphones in means instead of the noise of 2 ppl next to each other talking, it is just one person talking - seems to be less noise to me, but let's go back to 2 ppl having a conversation, totally not loud.

Why allow people to do any business on their flight or, allow vloggers to edit their videos, i mean, that typing and bright screen sure must annoy someone.

Because NONE of that work disturbs the people sitting next to you if they are strangers, unlike making a voice call, which clearly requires you to talk and forces the people around you to be part of your interaction without a way to opt out. Guess what? Your vlogging nonsense and conversation are only important to yourself.

 

[Swift]

" Taking it off the table permanently will be a victory for Americans across the country who, like me, value a moment of quiet at 30,000 feet"

That's great, when you spend $3500 extra for a business class seat and can't even continue your business on a 7 hour flight.

But let me guess, we can continue to use our credit card to make on flight calls using their system, how do we stay quiet, we mime?

You got it!

 

[Carlanga]

Just deny use of phone calls and let us use our data and our devices.

 

[mzeb]

Gonna speak to this one from a historical rules standpoint.

The original reason for the rules to not allow cell calls was a technical one. The RF from the cellphones could potentially interfere with some of the equipment on the plane and confuse the pilots. The rules were put in place for the safety of the crew an passengers as a misreading from any of the instruments or an inoperable radio could cause serious issues mid flight.

Today, and you can tell by reading the thread, the conversation has changed to the comfort on the plane. I can totally understand that lots of chatter on a plane could be horrible (think THAT guy talking on his phone on a cross pacific flight in the middle of the night while everyone else is sleeping), but it is not a technical conversation anymore. Modern planes have enough RF protection that technically this is not an issue. They've built this in because out of 200 people on an average flight at least one person will probably forget to turn off their cell.

So the question then becomes at what point do we ban things because it makes others uncomfortable?

OK, a little bit of opinion. I think we should open it up BUT we need to be polite. In Europe, there is an understanding on planes that you do not recline your seat during meal times on the plan. It is not a rule or law, it's just done. If you happen to be fast asleep on the plane and meal time roles around the person behind you may politely wake you up and ask you to put your seat up and if you are a considerate human being you oblige.

In this case, it would strike me that you keep your calls short and only to what's necessary. If someone happened to pick up their phone because their wife happened to have to run to the hospital to give birth I wouldn't argue. If they were just chatting next to me an entire flight, I'd take an issue.

If we could simply write "don't be an a$#&‡%e into law" that would work but I'm not sure we'll ever get that passed .

 

[Beerstalker]

The angle being used in the statement from Pai was interesting. The FCC's responsibility should end at the point where it's safe (or not) to use your cell while on a plane. Not if you SHOULD. But if it's safe. Just because the FCC would allow it doesn't mean the airlines couldn't still ban the use our of public decorum. But again, here's the government telling you how you should be behaving.

​

I agree 100%. The FCC should be investigating this to verify if it is safe or not, and set their rules according to those findings. It should be up to the DOT/TSA if to decide if it should or shouldn't be allowed. I'm still not even sure I agree with either of those organizations making the rules either. Ideally it should be up to the Airlines themselves.

We should not be legislating behavior. It is not the governments job to make people polite, that is a parents/teachers/clergyman/etc job (mostly the parents).

 

[shk718]

I have a unique experience with this - I have a lot of deaf friends and from time to time have used FaceTime and ASL (american sign language) to chat on flights. So, no voicing but, a bit of movement.

 

[mjsmith1568]

I think cellular access and talking are two different things. If I'm already paying 180 USD for cell service with unlimited data, why do I need to spend another x number of dollars for in flight wifi? Now if cellular access in the plane will still cost extra money, than yes, I'm with everyone else. If however, the idea was to provide cellular access without charging extra than I say allow cellular and ban making voice calls. Call me a cynic, but part of me thinks this is the in-flight-wifi lobby paying the big wigs in Washington to shoot this down for fear of lost revenue. #followthemoney

 

[itsmilo]

Eh how does one even have phone service all the way up in the air? Wouldnt the plane need to be equipped for it? Which they would then charge extra for anyway.

 

[NexusEclipse]

Try taking your phone out during a flight and turn it on. Chances are you won't get a cell phone signal, and if you do chances are you wouldn't be able to make a call. Cell phone towers are designed to transmit & receive signals horizontally, not 30,000 feet or more in the air.

For aircraft to support this they would have had to install femtocells with radio links to satellites or ground stations in order to support in-flight calls.

Of course this only applies to actual cell phone calls. It likely won't have any impact on those who already use voip, facetime, skype, etc. over wifi while on flights...

This, I believe, is how this technology works. Btw, this has existed on international airlines for years now. Flying transcontinental, they always disable the cellular service once they are over US waters. The airline makes money charging you for the service (it's not free). Some examples are available in the article below:

https://thepointsguy.com/2013/12/in...lines-allow-talking-and-texting-on-the-phone/

The flights have not devolved into noisy painful experiences. Honestly you find very few people using the service (similar to airline phones that used to be on the back of seats back in the day). End of the day, a non-news worthy point - expensive service that few people use and has very little impact except marking the U.S. as one of the few places that do not allow the technology.