“Makers of smartphones and networking gear urged U.S. regulators to end a ban on in-flight calls, adding their voices to an issue that’s roused public cries against noisy airplane seatmates,” Todd Shields reports for Bloomberg. “The Federal Communications Commission should end its ban so text, data ‘and even voice connectivity’ can be available to airborne passengers, including those on long-haul international flights, three trade associations said in a joint filing to the agency today. Airlines could decide what services passengers could use, the trade groups said.”
“The groups weighing in were the Telecommunications Industry Association representing makers and suppliers of networks, including Intel Corp.; the Information Technology and Industry Council with members including Google Inc. and Akamai Technologies Inc.; and the Consumer Electronics Association representing phone makers Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.,” Shields reports. “The FCC is considering allowing airline passengers to make voice calls using their mobile phones at altitudes above 10,000 feet. Its ban was put in place in the 1990s because of potential interference to wireless networks on the ground.”
“A Transportation Department online log list 1,774 entries including comments that warn of ‘angry confrontations’ and ‘extremely intrusive’ calls. The FCC attracted more than 1,300 comments; one warned that if surrounded in-flight by people using telephones, ‘I would not be able to stay sane,'” Shields reports. “Together, the agencies may decide to block voice calls while permitting other uses, such as texting and e-mail.”
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