Trump's FCC reverses 2013 proposal to allow cell phones

>The Consumer Technology Association, which supported the proposal, declined to comment. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which opposed the proposal, welcomed its demise.

>"The FCC is making the right decision not to pursue lifting the ban on in-flight calls," said Taylor Garland, a spokesman for the labor union. "The traveling public and crew members do not want voice calls on planes."

>Asked whether the union also took a position on the use of cellular data on planes, Garland said "due diligence requires a thorough assessment of the potential security risks… and mitigation of any risks."

>While most consumers may have difficulty getting a cellular signal at 30,000 feet, changes in technology are increasingly enabling the use of cellular networks in the air. Communications satellites, drones and even lasers have been proposed as ways to get connectivity to hard-to-reach areas. This could ultimately mean more competition against in-flight WiFi, which is often derided as expensive and slow.

>Had Wheeler's proposal been approved, it would have fallen to individual airlines to decide how and when to equip their planes with equipment to support in-flight cellular service. In a testimony before Congress, Wheeler said that the Federal Aviation Administration would work on crafting a rule to address voice calls on planes. The FAA had previously ruled that it is safe to switch on small electronic devices during all phases of flight, provided the devices are on airplane mode.

Who cares

>>130989
Anyone who flies on an airplane and wants to use their cellphone.

Good, I'm all for this, I don't want to want to listen to some asshole yell into phone complaining about his business trip......

I do understand that people having loud conversations could be annoying, but i imagine that individual airlines could pass rules about that. Plus, let's not forget that planes used to have phones attached to the backs of seats. Simply not having the option to use your phone data or service in the air feels very outdated. Further, it's no surprise that airlines are excited about the withdrawal of this as they get a juicy cut of the in-flight WiFi.

>“Taking it off the table permanently will be a victory for Americans across the country who, like me, value a moment of quiet at 30,000 feet,” Pai said.
As someone who actually enjoys doing work on flights it is very annoying that I cannot use the internet nor communicate with colleagues. Just because this guy likes to be able to get away from BBM for 3 hours shouldn't mean that everybody travelling in the country is barred from using their phones.

>>131015
>>131008
This has nothing to do with loud conversations. People text more often than talk nowadays.

This instead has more to do with airlines wanting to keep their monopoly on expensive in-flight satellite wi fi, but you won't hear them talking publicly about this.

>>130989
Why would you even come into this thread if you have nothing of value to contribute? Thesetypes of posts genuinely baffle me

your phone doesn't even fucking work up there it doesn't reach the signal towers those fucking tards.

source i fucking did it and it fucked my phone up too.

Only got signal 5-10 minutes after take off and before landing

Well, this is good for the handheld Vidya industry right? Or are they considered similar enough to a phone? I haven't owned a handheld in many years

How retarded. I used my phone on board an emirates flight and sent some texts over bangalore. No harm and only cost me standard roaming rates

>>131471
They use satellite equipment on board to establish a hot spot. Emirates and a few other airlines do it

>>131018
I don't care about that monopoly, if you can't rip your fingers away from your phone for a few hours without having a panic attack, than maybe you should drive everywhere

>>131471
>he didn't read the article

>>131626

some of us have work to do and don't want to pay 25 dollars for an hour of internet when my carrier already covers me