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Cell Phones In The Air?
jumbledInTheHead writes "Are you ever annoyed when someone near you talks unnecessarily loud on their cell phone? Or even worse, when it is in a tight, enclosed space and you can't walk away? The problem is about to get worse the next time you take a flight; the FAA is considering removing the ban on cell phone use on airlines."
So they can let phones on planes - big deal. Exactly how is this different:
'some wanker talking loudly to the person next to them'
'some wanker talking loudly to a person on the phone'
That's right - there is stuff all difference. People use phones (rudely sometimes), but so what! If they are a loud, rude person then they will be loud and rude no matter what technology you limit them to.
I hardly ever use my mobile, but on a plane I imagine it would be really useful (Hi Honey - I'll be in late, or booking rooms or whatever)
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power, just because some watery tart threw a sword at you
It is to bad we can't make laws to stop people from being jerks. The idea that if it is legal then I can do it mentality, so a bunch of people see that it is legal then they abuse the law then they people get annoyed with them then they make it illegal so people cant do it even why it is appropriate. It is the same with NY and people with Cell Phones while driving they started talking and driving all the time getting into accidents so NY made it illegal to talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time. Now if people take to heart the warnings that they give they should be smart and reduce there cell phone usage or whatever is annoying people. If not just to not be a jerk but to make sure you right to do this activity when it is really needed is maintained.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Just ask them to step outside.
They only have two people next to them on the plane to talk to, and if they are talking loudly, that's going to stop pretty quickly.
With a cell phone, they can talk loudly to anyone they can reach by phone.
So instead of maybe an hour before their seatmate gives them a hint that maybe it is time to shut up, they can conduct "business" in a loud voice for 8 hours straight (or as long as their battery lasts).
Long-distance air travel is already annoying enough, this is going to crank it up a notch!
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
Actually, the problem is that it's really easy to get a signal, because you have a clear shot to a crap load of cells at the same time while you are up in the air.
> Actually, the problem is that it's really easy to get a signal,
> because you have a clear shot to a crap load of cells at the
> same time while you are up in the air.
This is the big problem. If they use the existing cellular infrastructure, this will greatly increase interference and make voice quality even worse than it is today for everybody.
For existing cell phone towers, any cell phone in the air will be likely above the antenna mid-line. Since most antennas have a down-tilt of around 3-degrees (so they point slightly towards the ground), any coverage above the mid-line will be from one of the normally minimized antenna nodes that point up.
Antenna manufacturers try to make these nodes small because it's just wasted energy. One would rather have that energy pointed to where the traffic is. So the cell phones that are in the air will have moderate to poor signal strength which will require the cell phone and the base station radio to transmit at their highest power settings. For the base station, that's not too bad, but for the cell phone, you're suddenly going to have this giant source of interference because the phone will be broadcasting at its full power setting from nearly two miles above the surface. Since voice quality is indirectly proportional to the level of the noise floor in an area, cell phones service will get even worse.
However, the article talks about how they'll mitigate this. Airlines will install very small, low power base stations called "Picocells" aboard the plane. Thus, the cell phone will communicate with this nearby base station, reducing power levels significantly and minimizing the interference effect.
However, this will do nothing to mitigate the annoyance of listening to the person next to you screaming on their cell phone because they can't hear their voice over the roar of the engine.
Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
well, if it's such a problem, do what the japanese do... on the shinkansen (bullet train) which is essentially a slow airplane on wheels, the vestibule near the toilets is the required spot for all mobile conversations... if your phone rings, you leave your seat and have your conversation back by the loos, not in your seat
it works because everyone respects not being an ass to others... whether or not this would work on airplanes is another matter, but the idea of a mobiles section in the same sense as smoking sections would be a step in the right direction
What is it with the frickin Jihad people have on using phones in a public place? Last I had heard, noone had legislated that being a inconsiderate assmunch was illegal. Here's my tips for blocking out people talkign loudly (it works on my wife, so it will work on your idiot cell phone user):
1. Headphones man....put em on when you get to flight level and crank away my friend!
2. Just ignore it. Get into something like a good book and you can block out most anything.
3. Relax! It's ok dude! That person talking on thier cell phone is exercising their rights. You can't legistlate the rights of people to be idiots. People are going to be idiots whether they have their cell in their ear or not.
Now, here's a list of cell phone usage rules for the idiots:
1. Vibrate man.....put it on vibrate on the plane, in the theater or in a restaurant. If it's a quick call, take it. If it's going to get extended, head for the restroom and finish it up in there.
2. USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE! If your in a bad cell, hang up, call later.
3. If it's on audio ring, silence it quickly. No reason to hear more then the opening bar or two of music.
4. If you simply need to make that call, then wait til you get to a private location. Don't make extended chattering calls in public. If it's simple hey we're running late calls, go ahead and make it or take it. If you feel the need for a cell convo to take your whole plane ride, don't. As you can see from the posts hear on slashdot, it annoys people.
Lastly for everyone, TAKE A FRICKIN CHILL PILL! People are idiots with or with out cellphones, cars, bicycles, walkmans, bass thumpers, iPods, laptops....etc, etc....they will continue to be idiots when you take their toys away (in fact they willl be worse because now you have to listen to them whine about it).
Gorkman
Having trouble with the fellow next to you talking too loudly? A cell phone user cussing out their employee? Here's a nutty thought: Ask them politely to keep their voice down. Now, I know that sounds a little wacky to those of you who would rather hang back silently judging, but let me tell you I have tried it many times successfully. It requires a little known ability called courtesy, but with practice, you may be able to acquire this skill, too. Good luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of talking to strangers!