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

[RudySnow]

Now if they can only ban Bluetooth headsets throughout the country. After all of these years I can't believe idiots still walk around with those in their ear.

 

[Coleman2010]

Just make a FaceTime or Whats App call using the in-flight WiFi if something's that urgent.

T-Mobile WiFi calling works. I've made hotel reservations mid international flight.

 

[panleya]

This is stupid. The devices DO NOT interfere with the operation of the plane. Never did. For those old enough to remember, the airlines thought for a long time they could make some extra bucks selling phone time on the plane. To force passengers to use the service instead of their phones, they had to lie and tell people it interfered. Problem was, nobody wanted to pay for the service, and you can't back down from an outright lie.

 

[iJandro]

Has anyone even had any success using their phone on a plane? For fun, I left the airplane mode off and it was no service for the entire flight. I'd also assume that the in-flight wifi would be too weak for a voicecall

 

[Nautilus007]

Agreed, cell phone calls on planes would make flying miserable.

 

[pat500000]

I dont mind listening to people's conversations. I would stare at them and listen. Ask them questions when they hang up.

I wish this would apply to movie theaters as well.

 

[ejpeg]

"L'enfer c'est les autres" - nuff said.

 

[Mac 128]

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).

Exactly. I thought the Trump administration was interested in de-regulation, not in regulating passengers behavior on an airplane, which is essentially what this is, if safety is not an issue.

 

[macduke]

I don't get why they can't allow phone data though, and specifically state that voice phone calls are prohibited. What is to keep me from using T-Mobile/Verizon/whatever WiFi calling using in-flight WiFi while in airplane mode? I've tested it and it works on the ground. Furthermore, what is to prevent someone from making FaceTime or FaceTime audio calls, use Skype, or anything else using the in-flight WiFi that could cause a disruption? If they allow Wi-Fi, then that inherently allows voice, unless they specifically say otherwise. And if they're going to allow WiFi, then there's no sense in disallowing LTE. They just need to make the rule specific to voice if they want peace and quiet!

 

[jarman92]

This has everything to do with money, it's the same with hotels with the cell jammer, they want you to use their services.

It's amazing how easily people can be convinced to side with big business over your right to use services you already paid for.

Jamming cell signals is illegal in the US. Hotels also can't block Wi-Fi signals from personal devices, thanks to Wheeler's FCC. You know, the good one that wasn't in the pocket of Big Business.
[doublepost=1491858000][/doublepost]

Has anyone even had any success using their phone on a plane? For fun, I left the airplane mode off and it was no service for the entire flight. I'd also assume that the in-flight wifi would be too weak for a voicecall

Same for me...I imagine carriers would have to build new infrastructure or reconfigure existing to get a signal to 30,000 feet. Or add cells to the actual plane.

Wi-Fi calling should definitely work though.

 

[Gasu E.]

Pretty hilarious how many people here are buying into Pai's propaganda on this. This has nothing do do with people talking on their phone, and everything to do with protecting the monopoly the airlines currently have on in-flight internet access, which they would lose if you could access the internet through your cellular connection.

No it doesn't. The FCC controls cellular service. Everything else you mention is outside the control of the FCC. Airline internet access is completely outside the scope of the FCC.

 

[mossback]

Fantastic news. Support the decision to table this 100%.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

A moment of quiet? WHAT AIRPLANE has THAT guy been riding on? Planes are so damn noisy from the engine alone I would NEVER use the word "quiet" in conjunction with a jet airplane. I suppose people screaming above that noise to make phone calls would be bad, but how reliable is a phone at 30k feet going 700mph anyway? You'd be racing between cell towers so fast you'd lose connection constantly. It would have to be tied into the plane's more reliable connection (ala WiFi and many planes already offer phone service on board (for a PRICE! Check out ship to shore WiFi and phone rates on a Cruise some time; you'll crap your shorts).

 

[jettredmont]

Full smartphone use on commercial flights will continue to be disallowed, according to a proposal issued today by United States Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai wants to terminate 2013 proceedings that aimed to relax the rules prohibiting passengers from using their cellular phones for phone calls and data while in the air.

In a statement [PDF], Pai called the FCC's plan "ill-conceived" and said that tabling it permanently would be a "victory for Americans across the country."Back in late 2013, The FCC announced plans to introduce a proposal that would allow passengers to use their cellular phones on airplanes during flight for making phone calls and browsing the web. The proposal went forward, despite protests from flight attendants, airlines, consumer groups, and pilots, leading the Department of Transportation to announce plans to consider banning calls if the FCC approved the measure.

Since then, the FCC has been investigating the safety of allowing cellphone service on planes, and the proposal has not moved forward. With Pai aiming to nix it completely, it sounds like cellphone usage while in flight, including data usage for web browsing and making voice calls, will continue to be banned.

Under the FCC's existing rules, which were updated in 2013, passengers can use personal devices like iPhones and iPads throughout their flights, but cellular service must be disabled through Airplane Mode.

Article Link: FCC Chairman to End Plans to Allow In-Flight Cellphone Calls

I'm sorry, but this is just a ******** old-people-voting-base pleaser from the Trump constituency. It accomplishes nothing except inconvenience people.

Is the goal to stop people from talking on planes? Have you noticed that people have always talked on planes? Someone talking on a phone pales in comparison to a screaming baby trying to figure out why his eardrums feel like they are about to burst open! And this won't stop people from talking on the phone either; if data is available then we can skype out or use other voice-carrying system.

And do you really think people talking loudly into their personal devices would be an issue? Look to "lower-end" mass transportation systems and you see that people generally aren't shouting at their phones.

What Pai's "quiet time" rule doesn't stop:

* VOIP calls using overpriced data connectivity
* AirFone calls that are a major profit center for airlines
* People talking loudly to each other
* Babies selfishly crying
* People watching movies without headphones (and yelling "DON'T GO IN THERE!!!" and/or "OH NO YOU DIDN'T!" at appropriate moments)
* People chewing gum loudly
* People kicking the back of your seat
* And of course the low droning jet engine (or, worse, propeller/turbo prop) noise

... all of which I have personally witnessed on flights around the US. Which is why I use noise-canceling headphones.

If you want peace and quiet in a plane:

1. Invest in a good set of noise-canceling headphones. You need to do that now to be undisturbed on your flight.

2. Promote a culture of civility and mutual valuation. This is obviously not the type of thing our blowhard-in-chief would promote, but one would have hoped that the chairman of the FCC would understand that legislating civility has never in the history of the human race worked, but providing social pressure to be civil works wonders even today.

 

[supremedesigner]

It's a good thing that I am deaf and I could turn off my cochlear implants anytime lol

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

I don't think that governments should be deciding the etiquette. If it's safe, it should be allowed. Let airlines decide whether to ban it on their planes or not.

 

[tito2020]

I fly for work twice a week - and this is horrid. Not that air travel isn't bad enough, but this would make a bad situation worse!

Get 2 cans and a bungie cord when your almost near landing throw it out the window and there is your inflight calls lol

 

[xDKP]

We've travelled on airlines for many decades without yelling into phones - I'm sure we can all cope with this news.

I travelled on horseback for many decades without cars - I'm sure we can all cope with this news of banning this new automobile thing.

Yeah let's just all get stuck in the present forever ....

 

[macTW]

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

That can still happen... Wifi calling.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

This is stupid. The devices DO NOT interfere with the operation of the plane. Never did. For those old enough to remember, the airlines thought for a long time they could make some extra bucks selling phone time on the plane. To force passengers to use the service instead of their phones, they had to lie and tell people it interfered. Problem was, nobody wanted to pay for the service, and you can't back down from an outright lie.

That's not the reason why it was shot down. The chairman said it was because people wanted quiet at 3000 feet,

 

[exterminator]

Yea. If I had to sit on a 2-3 hour flight with some ghetto ass running their mouth on the phone the entire time I would jump off the plane.

Sorry But i cannot understand this. You are not in favour of having access to cellular because of someone talking throughout the entire flight?

Don't get me wrong, I am against it too, but its more for a traditional feeling of having those 2 hours where you can literally disconnect from the world.

But can't they do like trains here in the Netherlands? Certain carriages are Silent and people will stop you if you start blabbing on the phone or just talking. Apply same concept maybe? Ban use for night flights and allow only in certain seats?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Will this affect the T-Mobile use of texting while flying? I agree with ban on people talking on the phone while flying. At least Texting should be allowed.

No. It never did. Data is allowed. No plans on stopping that. It's just the introduction of voice that is being halted. And yeah for that.

 

[yaxomoxay]

A moment of quiet? WHAT AIRPLANE has THAT guy been riding on? Planes are so damn noisy from the engine alone I would NEVER use the word "quiet" in conjunction with a jet airplane. I suppose people screaming above that noise to make phone calls would be bad, but how reliable is a phone at 30k feet going 700mph anyway? You'd be racing between cell towers so fast you'd lose connection constantly. It would have to be tied into the plane's more reliable connection (ala WiFi and many planes already offer phone service on board (for a PRICE! Check out ship to shore WiFi and phone rates on a Cruise some time; you'll crap your shorts).

The airplane's noise would be white noise, it might actually get relaxing.
Someone next to you yelling ("they are far so they can't hear well") for hours about personal gossip is a different issue...

 

[Jodeo]

It was a rough flight - the noisiest dive in the skies. Populated with every reject and cutthroat from Seattle to Austin. It's worse than Detroit.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Sorry But i cannot understand this. You are not in favour of having access to cellular because of someone talking throughout the entire flight?

Don't get me wrong, I am against it too, but its more for a traditional feeling of having those 2 hours where you can literally disconnect from the world.

But can't they do like trains here in the Netherlands? Certain carriages are Silent and people will stop you if you start blabbing on the phone or just talking. Apply same concept maybe? Ban use for night flights and allow only in certain seats?

Allowing calls in certain seats would work as well as allowing smoking only in certain seats.