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FCC To Consider Cellphone Use On Planes
aitikin writes "The Federal Communications Commission is expected to propose allowing passengers to use their cellphones on airplanes. While phone use would still be restricted during takeoff and landing, the proposal would lift an FCC ban on airborne calls and cellular data use by passengers once a flight reaches 10,000 feet. From the article: 'The move would lift a regulatory hurdle, but any use of cellphones on planes would still have to be approved by the airlines, which have said they would approach the issue cautiously due to strong objections from their customers. Airlines would have to install equipment in their planes that would communicate with cellphone towers on the ground.'"
I think this would lead to in-flight homicide.
*ringtone*
*pulls out GIANT brick phone*
What!?!
No!!!!
I'm on an airplane!!!!
I'm on an airplane!!!!
No!!!
What?!?!?!?
I'm on an airplane!!!!
Yes, an airplane!!!
No, I can talk!!!!
What?!?!?!?!
No, I can talk!!!!
Here comes the flood of people complaining about having to listen to other people talking...
Even though it's really no different to people talking to the person next to them
Except people tend to talk louder on the phone than in person... and you're trapped next them for the next n hours.
Put the phone down. It won't hurt. I promise.
HELLO! GLADYS? I'M ON THE PLANE! I CAN SEE CLOUDS! ONE LOOKS LIKE A RUTABAGA! DO YOU THINK THAT MEANS ANYTHING? SO HOW WAS YOUR DAY? WAIT SOMEONE NEXT TO ME IS TRYING TO GET MY ATTENTION. EXCUSE ME CAN'T YOU SEE I'M ON THE PHONE? HOW RUDE!
great, now I have to bypass the yelling filter... sdlfjals;kdfjakl; sklsfdlkas; lsdksdk lsk dslk sdl ksdlk; dsl;sd ldslklsd klds;l dsl;k ksdkl;sdlkdskl; sd;klsdk l; sdkllks;d skdl; skldkl;ds k;ldskldsklsfjlskdfk sdl lks dklds lks;dlk ds ;klsdlk dsdkls slkldkslk;d;klsdkl dsl;skd l;kds ksdl; sdkldslk sldk;l kdsk;lsd lkkl;ds ds ;klsd kl;kdsl; k;ldsksd kl k;sdkl;sl;kd klsd;lkds l;kdslk sd;lkk; lsd;lkds l;ksd;klds ;klsdkldsl;k sd ;lksd ;klsd l;ksdl;k sd lk;dsl ;ksdl ;kds l;kds l;kdskl ;sdklsd k;l;sdkl;klsd;klsd kl;ds k;lds; lksdkl; ds;kl sdkl ;sdl ksd klsd; lkdsk ldsklsd;lkds ;lkds ;lkds ;klds; lksd;kl
how many pairs of boxer shorts should you own?
Or not
“It’s very emotional in the United States,” said Benoit Debains, the chief executive of OnAir. He insisted that the anxiety was overblown. For one thing, he and other industry executives said, standard cabin noise covers up much conversational noise, yet people with cellphones pressed to their ears in that environment somehow do not feel the need to speak louder to compensate.
“I remember on the first flight we did, we asked one guy, ‘What do you think about using the phone for voice in the cabin?’ He said he was against it. But we said, ‘You know, the guy across from you has been using his phone for the last five minutes.’ ”
Emirates executives have even heard from skeptical pilots and flight attendants who mistakenly believed “the system was on but nobody was using it” on a particular flight, he said. “And I was able to go back to them and say, well 63 people had their phones on, and there were 22 phone calls and 68 messages.”
He added, “They were thinking it must be broken because they don’t hear anybody using it.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/technology/29phones.html
Cell phones not a problem on busses and trains?
Have you ever took a train during rush hour?
Terror right there.
There was never any safety issues with using a cell phone anytime during flight. If there was, don't you think that planes would be dropping like flies from every nutcase and terrorist turing on (or leaving on) their cell phones?
It was disallowed because it cut into airline revenue from expensive airplane to satellite phones. However now that airlines are deploying micro-cells, with huge roaming fees, guess with, its now magically time to remove cell phone restrictions. But only when the planes are above 10000 feet, in order to allow these micro-cells to override ground based cell towers, and insure roaming revenue.
Below 10000 feet, the in-flight cell phone ban must remain in place, since it is much easier to bypass the micro-cells in planes and connect directly (and cheaply) to a ground based cell towers.
“I remember on the first flight we did, we asked one guy, ‘What do you think about using the phone for voice in the cabin?’ He said he was against it. But we said, ‘You know, the guy across from you has been using his phone for the last five minutes.’ ”
Draw your own conclusion as to why he was against it.
standard cabin noise covers up much conversational noise, yet people with cellphones pressed to their ears in that environment somehow do not feel the need to speak louder to compensate.
And right there you have the crux of the problem. This guy does not understand human nature.
When people can't hear, they shout.
Without a headset requirement, there will be shouting.
And most phone speakers are so weak you have trouble hearing in even a slightly loud environment. People will resort to the speaker phone function and then you get to listen to both sides of every conversation at once.
The best way to get people to talk softer is to require them to use earbuds or headsets.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
If you look at wireless signal strength maps like this http://www.datasync.com/~rsf1/cell-air.htm you will see there are gaps in vertical coverage - where there's no signal. So I don't see how even any special equipment in planes can work with such low signal levels. (The old airfones used a different communication connection)
That's right. You only have to speak over the sound of the diesel engine, the wind noise, the traffic noise, and the road noise.
Airplane cabins are probably someplace in the 70-80 dB range, depending on the type of plane and where you are sitting. That's just about what you'd expect from moderate traffic that includes large vehicles or high speeds. I'm sure there are some buses that are quieter than planes, but it doesn't strike me as a major difference.
In a metro system of even moderate size you can be on the same bus traveling in the same direction for 2+ hours. That's not a long plane ride, but it's not a trivial amount of time either. And inter-city routes can obviously be much longer.
Even though it's really no different to people talking to the person next to them
Hearing half a conversation is worse than hearing a whole conversation.
Yes it is.
The phones on the backs of seats can only be used to make, not receive, calls. OTOH, with cellphones, the airlines can impose a surcharge for both outgoing and incoming calls, much like with carrier roaming. There's also data roaming. So yes, the airlines to stand to make big bucks on this if they play it right.
Dropbox drops it like it's hot.
Them: "Mind if I yak on my cellphone in this enclosed space?"
You: "Mind if I fart?"
The FCC making it legal is one thing. Airlines allowing it is another. Given the overwhelmingly negative response I've seen on this so far today, I think it's pretty safe to say that any airline that decided to allow passengers to make calls on their phones would risk losing business -- especially the business of frequent flyers. People who fly a lot tend to be quite familiar with the annoyances of flying, so why would they want to fly an airline that potentially adds another?
What I haven't seen mentioned is whether you'd have to pay a premium for such calls. Assuming you have to pay cruise ship rates (over $2 a minute), that would definitely discourage people from making long chit-chat phone calls to pass the time of their flight. Likewise, I'm sure a time limit on calls could be easily implemented. With such conditions in place, I'd probably be ok with it, and I'd certainly appreciate it if I was ever in a situation where I really needed to make a phone call en route to my destination.
www.gaiageek.com
You know, a lot of people in here are complaining about in-flight cell use being annoying. But we have had in-flight wifi for awhile now, and you can use the phone over that service any number of ways. Is that being abused?
TO me, the solution is simple.. you enable the access, but you disallow people from making or taking voice calls via simple airline policy. Text only. This allows people to use their own text and data plans and keeps the annoyance factor to the same level as wifi.
And did this plane have phones in the back of the seat in front of you ...
No, it did not. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a 'flight phone' in a seat. I think most airlines have ripped those out in favor of 'entertainment centers'.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.