Slashdot Mirror
Senators Propose Bill Prohibiting Phone Calls On Planes
SonicSpike writes with news that two U.S. Senators, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), have proposed legislation to ban cell phone calls while aboard an airplane. This follows a recent announcement from the FAA increasing the range of electronic gadgets travelers can use while flying, and a vote by the FCC to consider allowing phone calls during flight. However, even as those government agencies work to lift regulations on in-flight technology, the Department of Transportation is pondering a in-flight call ban of its own, saying it might not be "fair" to consumers to have to listen to other passengers talk on the phone throughout a long flight. FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said, "If we move beyond what we do here today and actually update our rules to allow voice calls on planes we can see a future where our quiet time is monetized and seating in the silent section comes at a premium."
Are they going to ban them in restaurants next? Movie theaters? What an idiotic premise!
since its ok to talk on a cell phone, ok for my kids to vocalize themselves as well
Do they really have nothing more pressing to deal with than legislating common courtesy?
Not cell phones, but there have definitely been phones available. Some planes even had handsets embedded in the back of the headrests.
Also, I have always left my phone on in flights. It doesn't get a signal at altitude, and definitely not over the middle of the ocean. It's really only when you are near takeoff or landing.
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
I've seen plenty of phones on planes before, but I've never seen them used to actually make calls. Probably because they cost a shitload.
So, just have a fair warning to consumers, that each call will cost $10 a minute (via various methods, including text messages to those phones that are turned on). Then, only those people who actually have a pressing need will use the phones in flight. Solves the problem for me.
Moreover, if noise worries you, then get a pair of earplugs. And/or don't fly (the engines are almost always the noisiest thing on airplanes for me).
HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
I think a better solution is that once you've achieved cruising altitude that passenger can petition for a vote of all passengers to have specific annoying passengers literally thrown off the planes. No parachute, just a good heave. As annoying cell phone users are - shouting in their phones, etc. - seat kickers, loud drunks, crying babies and others deserve some sort of retribution too.
Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most. - Clement Mok
quiet time huh? don't fly much?
If the person next to you is talking on the phone just join in. Comment on what they say, ask what the other person said, etc. Someone rude enough to have a phone conversation in a crowd won't catch the sarcasm, but at least you'll annoy them as much as they annoy you.
What's difference between talking on a phone and talking to someone I am traveling with as far as noise disruption?
Because of low (or absent) sidetone on cell phones, people tend to speak much more loudly than they would in a regular conversation. Additionally, if the connection is poor people tend to shout. This is why most people find cell conversations disruptive.
I don't agree with the bill, but there is a difference to the third-parties.
Firstly, everyone talks louder on the phone. They don't realize it and deny it left-and-right, but they do. Add to that, they will be compensating for the engine noise so it's going to be a lot of "can you hear me, what about now, is that better" So you have increased volume.
Second, you have the issue of "half a conversation" messing with your brain. Hearing another conversation isn't so bad, hearing only HALF the conversation (the guy on the phone) and your brain tries to piece together w t h they're talking about or what the person on the other-end-of-the-phone is saying. It's an automatic thing, so it adds to the annoyance.
Lastly, not too many people talk to their strangers / neighbors for more than a few minutes. Sure people talk, but for the most part people just want to veg out and rest / read / watch the movie / etc. Bring in the phones, and LOTS of people will be talking.
Personally I'm fine with the way planes have been... the talking is at a minimum so I can at least try to get some rest. Instead now you will have people going on and on about mundane stuff.
At least... hopefully the teens and younger will be Texting instead of calling... so I don't have to hear all of the "Oh My Gawd did you see what she was wearing" BS.
How about we respect the fact that the plane is the property of the airline and let them set policy accordingly. I mean holy crap on a cracker Batman, civility will break down because someone is talking (at most likely) conversational volume on a cell phone on a long flight that already has cranky and cramped adults, babies and drunks.
Airline keeps half. The rest is distributed to the people sitting next to the person making the call.
Not that way, no. The plan is to give the plane a small mobile cell of its own, connected to the wider network via satellite backhaul.
Both Alexander and Feinstein have issues that they'd rather the media not look at right now. Alexander's chief of staff was just arrested on child porn charges, and Feinstein...I don't think I have to mention, here on /., why people hate Feinstein.
So they've come together with a "you know that thing that people really hate? Let's ban it!" bill meant to get their names in the headlines next to something they think people will like. It's just a stunt. Pay no heed to it.
Everything is better with chainsaws.
I can't overexaggerate how much I love the zone of silence in my daily bus and train rides, or the pristine calm of the city sidewalks.
Give me a fucking break. Suddenly the Senate is concerned for my delicate ears? More likely: an airline was cutting a deal with a carrier to sell AirTalk (tm) in-flight voice at $3.99 a minute and doesn't want to be undercut.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Oh, God! That's all I need. Cramped in a tin can with a pack of bored nitwit talkers for a five hour flight to the west coast. There is absolutely no need for this at all.
But then there will be all of the amusing fights that will surely follow. Maybe I ought to get an upgraded device to record videos. :)
Yeah. I've changed my mind. Allow cell phone calls on a plane.
As a Dem, I can understand some members of the party seeing a need for this, but I'm shocked that Lamar Alexander is co-sponsoring this. So much for anti-regulation republicans. While I agree that voice calls should not be permitted in planes, there is no reason to legislate this. It is very reasonable that in the future there may be airlines dedicated to business passengers who would find value in having phone calls on a flight.
Let us also forget the fact that many airplanes already have seat tethered phones that no one uses. A passenger etiquette policy determined by airlines would be preferable than a blanket ban. I see this more as a generational issue where old people are once again on the losing side.
Exactly, and nor is it something the Federal govt should be involved with. Airlines are completely capable of deciding for themselves if more people are annoyed or if more people would prefer to be able to use phones.
...even if "being told what to do" means they decide internally but have a Federal organization slap their letterhead on it and make it a Federal rule/policy.
There will probably be a lot of high-mileage and influential business customers who want to talk on the phone. These people are the gravy for airlines in terms of income and that can get expensive if they switch to another carrier who will allow these calls. Making their own policies that risks exposing them to a competitive disadvantage is something they don't want.
If they do allow calls with their own policy, they then risk the public relations nightmare of bad press and public opinion. Of course they don't really care about vacation travelers opinions very much since they aren't the high margin business customers, but they also don't want the negative PR generally.
It's just so much easier for them on this issue if they don't have to decide on their own and they can just point to a regulatory rule.
Sadly, the only way to overturn this mess, and get it out and maybe revised would be to have the Reps in control of all 3x branches. But, I'm afraid what else they'd do if they had that much control.
Last time the GOP had the House, Senate, and Presidency, the United States got involved in Vietghanistan and Vietraq.
If phone calls would be prohibited on planes, flight 93 would have hit something in D.C. Maybe where these senators are sitting. Time for someone to use 9-11 politically again.
Talking on a cellphone in public should be a federal crime. In fact, let's give up all our freedoms in order to avoid minor annoyances!
I have personally witnessed Diane Feistein bumping off a confirmed passenger (an associate who had booked a seat near me), and refusing to turn off her electronic equipment (A Kindle) during landing operations on a commercial flight (when it was prohibited to leave it on during takeoffs and landings). Who the F**k is this person to make this kind of policy when she can't think of anyone but herself when it comes to behavior on an airplane?
Acutally you can sometimes get a cell signal from a phone on a plane (some lightly used rural towers can pretty high power/range). Unfortunatly the high-altitude and velocity of a plane used to confuse cell networks (esp., the tower-handoff protocols between say a 3G and a CDMA tower on a multi-mode phone) and consume too much of the tower's antenna power-bandwidth envelope leaving less for other calls. Because so many folks leave their cell-phones onboard planes, nowdays many networks are configured detect if you are hitting too many different types of towers and simply refuse to track/connect a phone exhibiting such a pattern.
Of course at 5miles up in cruise phase, you'd have to have a very good phone to get a signal because the signal you would get isn't from a tower straight down from you (the cell towers don't focus their energy up), but on a far away tower where your signal looks more parallel to the ground. But during a slow decent phase over a relatively unpopulated area, it's quite common to be able to get a decent signal somewhere between 3-4 miles in altitude.
But they aren't going to do that, they are going to put a femto-cell on the plane and probably back-haul it through a satellite network (likely the same one they use to provide wifi internet service). I imagine the call will look like a high-cost roaming fee on your cell-phone bill and they will block VoIP (if they don't do that already).
Dear Senator Feinstein,
Could you please pass a law to create a new felony for crying on a plane. All there uneducated babies are really, but really annoying me when I am trying to browse porn sites while in the middle of a transcontinental flight.
Kind regards,
- x0ra
Maybe the best compromise would be to have phone booths, where you can go in and make your call? Anywhere else in the plane there would be no signal. Now how to make it so people share the space respectively?
Jumpstart the tartan drive.