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FCC Kills Plan To Allow Mobile Phone Conversations On Flights (pcworld.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from PCWorld: On Monday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission killed a plan to allow mobile phone calls during commercial airline flights. Since 2013, the FCC and the Federal Aviation Administration have considered allowing airline passengers to talk on the phones during flights, although the FAA also proposed rules requiring airlines to give passengers notice if they planned to allow phone calls. The plan to allow mobile phone calls on flights drew sharp objections from some passengers and flight attendants who had visions of dozens of passengers trying to talk over each other for entire flights. But FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Monday killed his agency's 2013 proceeding that sought to relax rules governing the use of mobile phones on airplanes. Under the FCC proposal, airlines would have decided if they allowed mobile phone conversations during flights.
Suggesting that Facetime or Skype are not a "voice call" is like saying:
But your honor! I was NOT texting and driving when I had that collision! I was using Twitter!
(Frnds dont let frnds txt n drv. A true friend will hold the wheel for the driver so he can concentrate on what is important.)
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
People don't tend to yell at each other when they're sitting side-by-side, but a lot of people feel the need to speak at max-volume when they're on a phone.
When two people talk on a plane, they are mutually consenting. (Of course, other people may be annoyed. But at least you hear two sides of a conversation.)
With someone talking on the phone, every person nearby gets to be annoyed.
Imagine the annoyance of a one sided conversation. You can't even understand what the other person might be saying.
Ring ring
Hello?
No! I'm not driving.
Well, yes I am in the car. But I'm stuck in traffic. Thus not driving. The car is in park right now.
No, I left the car seats at home.
Calm down, I don't need them. I don't have the kids with me.
No! No. Of course, I did not leave the kids alone. I left them safely with the dog.
Yes, I know it's my weekend.
They'll be alright. They're very mature for their age. The oldest is almost 7.
I just needed a break. That's all.
No. Don't worry. I am not going to the strip club. Not while this traffic is stuck.
You don't seem to understand. How can I be drinking and driving when I'm stuck in traffic, car in park, not driving? I know better than to drink and drive at the same time.
No, I'm not with my drinking buddies.
What do you mean "then where are they"? I swear, they are not in the car!
Look, they jumped out of the car because there is a liquor store on this block. And traffic isn't moving. I'm not with them because they haven't returned yet with more drinks for us. And we're taking turns driving, so it's okay.
Chill out. Nobody is drinking when it is their turn to drive.
What are you so upset about? I can't understand what you are saying.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
So, be like Japan?
Because my wish for peace and quiet does not annoy anyone. Your insecure need to be in constant communication on the other hand, does.
why is your wish for "peace and quiet" more valuable than my wish to communicate?
Because you're an anonymous asshole.
Thank. F*cking. God.
If people were polite and considerate of each other, this would easily be something that should be allowed.
Unfortunately, we live in reality where people tend not to be overly considerate of others around them while on their phones. Add in the cramped quarters of an aircraft on top of the stressors various folks have related to travel and I think you'll see more aircraft incidents that we would like. Wifi with email should be sufficient for most communication needs.
As far as I knew nobody was going to force airlines to allow people to talk on their phones. So this would be allowing the airlines to make the decision, which puts it where it should be - the business side of the equation.
If some airlines, say more business oriented or in first class only, etc.. want to allow it then they should be able to.
The FCC and FAA should be deciding on the safety of using phones, not how annoying they are to some people.
Why is the FCC, which is responsible for regulation of the use of the radio spectrum, considering social aspects when making decisions regarding the technical feasibility of using cell phones on planes? The only factor should be whether or not the use of these devices interferes with the avionics of the aircraft, which we know is not an issue (although the airlines always threw that nebulous excuse out there in the past). I once worked in a hospital that wouldn't let the doctors install a WiFi access point in their private lounge (back when WiFi first came on the scene) because "it would probably interfere with the telemetry of the medical equipment". Both are red herrings and using technical aspects as an excuse to cover for other reasons (unreasonable fear of culpability, protecting monopolistic practices, etc).
My point is that the FCC should not be in a *conversation* with the airlines regarding what they may or may not prefer when the FCC makes *technical* decisions regarding the use of radio devices.
Better known as 318230.
So they're not enabling cellular service, but you can usually pay their extortion price for WiFi and then make all the VoIP calls you want. If you use Google Voice, it's just like any other call. You can also use Signal, Skype, or whatever.
But for the other 95% who aren't clueful with the technology, it keeps them quiet. In time that might change. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years, most people only use data on their devices, regardless of whether they're making a call, sending a text, or browsing a web site.
Yes thank you Mr Trump for implementing the small government plan of forcing airlines to do something that's completely unrelated to safety.
Nothing says small and limited government like government minders telling you that you can't use a private phone on a private aircraft and they will put you in jail for doing so.
Airlines should be able to make this call, the Obama FCC was right to give the airlines control over this rule once they showed modern cell phones no longer caused interference on planes. You may not remember this but every seat used to have a phone, the rates were just ridiculous enough to keep people from calling in everything but an emergency but it was still perfectly acceptable to make a call. It was only with the rise of personal phones that this ability was taken away out of safety fears which are no longer applicable.
But thanks to Mr "small government" Trump we've ensured that no naughty person will make a phone call from a private airplane.
True, but there's also the fact that it's far more distracting listening to half a conversation; your brain tries to fill in the blanks, and it's very hard to tune out like you can a normal conversation.
There is actually a security reason for this. Using a cell phone to trigger an explosive device is a common tactic in the middle east. Delivering cell calls handsets on a flight allows a remotely triggered device to be improvised, planted and triggered from thousands of miles away. It would also allow the tracking of a specific flight/person for similar targeting from the ground. All this is possible with obscurity built in.
If you have to register your WiFi device to use it and receive data, that makes most of this kind of thing go away, or at least makes it necessary to have somebody on board to sacrifice themselves to the cause (not that this eliminates the threat, but it sure makes the commitment level higher to follow though).
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
I think this is for the best. I am old enough to remember a time before cellphones, so take this for my version of "get off my lawn". There is a certain species of person who has a need to carry out a phone conversation while on public transportation. I don't expect dead quiet on a train, but listening to someone shout random phrases into a their phone from the time they get on the train till the time they get off 40 minutes later pushes the boundaries of courtesy a little too far. I'm afraid that if someone sat down next to me and talked all the way from Seattle to Atlanta I might snap. I'm imaging something like Bill Duke in Predator - "bleed ya real quiet, leave ya there." I would like to get through my days without having to leave a seatmate behind with a little plastic knife in his spleen.
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
There is actually a security reason for this. Using a cell phone to trigger an explosive device is a common tactic in the middle east.
So is pushing a button and taking yourself out along with the plane. Actually this is a far more common method in the middle east as well.
None of this bothers me. The second I get on the jet and sit down, I push foam ear plugs in, and take a nap. The baby next to me does not bother me.
*looks at parent's signature and sees why
"Government is like fire; a handy servant, but a dangerous master." -- George Washington
Show me one cellphone technology that can send and receive signals at a distance of 38,000 feet (the average cruise altitude)
All of them. 38000 feet is a smidge over 7 miles, or 11.5km. GSM has a range of 35km, but the typical cell range is 70+km.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!