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FCC, FAA Still Don't Want Cell Phones on Planes
mattnyc99 writes "Last month we learned that the UK has approved in-flight mobile, effective immediately. Popular Mechanics has a follow-up on why the phones-on-planes ban is here to stay in the United States. Statements from the FCC and FAA confirm that any chance to overturn it remains dead on arrival — even though new "pico-cell" networks cut down interference with phones on the ground. American Airlines is looking like it will have onboard Wi-Fi within the next couple months, just the same. PM does note, however, that if the European mobile rollout is a success, US carriers might just have to give into demand."
I know a number of people who ride the commuter trains, and more and more of them are starting to carry these handy little devices. No, no one cares about how legal these are or are not. Turn them on just long enough for the offending phone to lose the call, and they are undetectable.
We are all just people.
There was a Mythbusters episode (season 4 episode 6) where they got serious interference under test conditions with actual airplane instruments, but were unable to interfere with the instruments on an actual plane. They concluded that even though they couldn't create a hazardous situation, it would be an extremely bad idea to take the risk, since it is plausible and there's only one way to find out!
They also made a good point that air travel would be prohibitively expensive if insurance companies required airlines to verify that every component of every plane in their fleets were impervious to cel phone interference. That makes the $5 plane phone seem a lot less sinister.
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You wouldn't be switching between towers at all. I'm pretty sure the summary mentioned "pico cells" which are basically mini towers. They don't need to be nearly as strong as a real tower because the even the longest plane in the world is only 75 meters (Airbus 340-600).
Perhaps thinking of them as repeaters is more effective. All of the phones on the plane connect to that one tower (pico cell), and then sends all of the communications to the ground.
If I am in the toilet stall right next to you and i have trouble dropping one because of your voice then i am going stick your head down the toilet.
NASA/CR-2001-210866, Personal Electronic Devices and Their Interference With Aircraft Systems
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