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Posts with tag In-flightCellphone

In-flight calling ban passes hurdle in House

by Donald Melanson, posted Aug 1st 2008 @ 10:24AM

It looks like that proposed ban on in-flight calling has now passed its first major hurdle in Congress, with it snagging some much needed approval from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in a voice vote on Thursday. While the so-called "Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace" (or HANG UP, really) would make permanent the current ban on in-flight cellphone use, it'd also go one step further and put a stop to all in-flight voice communications, which its co-sponsors hope will prevent airlines from charging some passengers to use their phones while also charging others to sit in a phone-free section of the plane. Of course, the bill still has a long ways to go before it becomes law, but giving the recent polling on the matter, it would seem to have a better than decent chance of going all the way.

[Via Slashdot]

Qantas extends testing of in-flight cellphone use

by Donald Melanson, posted Oct 29th 2007 @ 11:19AM

Qantas has already taken quite a few steps towards allow in-flight cellphone use (and more), but it looks like the Australian airline still needs a bit more time to get things just right, as its now extending a trial it first launched in April. That was originally supposed to run just three months but, according to PC World, it'll now wrap up in February of next year, although Qantas expects to have a preliminary report ready before the end of this year. What's more, these tests (and eventual implementation) are apparently limited to text and email services only, and not voice calling, which is a compromise we're guessing more than a few will be willing to accept.

Europe closer to allowing in-flight cellphone use

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 18th 2007 @ 12:40PM


The dream of being able to annoy everyone around you at 30,000 feet inched ever closer to reality today, with EU regulators recommending that member states approve a plan to allow in-flight cell phone use. Although previous studies have shown cell radios may interfere with in-flight nav systems, the new plan involves mounting a satellite-linked "pico cell" in the passenger compartment, which will allow pilots and flight crew to selectively enable cell services like voice and SMS. Unfortunately, the system only supports 2G connections, but if its successful, officials say it can be upgraded to 3G. Rollout is dependent on both individual countries and airlines approving the tech, but hopefully we'll be chatting away soon.

[Via Switched]

Dubai's Emirates airline first to allow mobile calls in flight

by Paul Miller, posted Nov 8th 2006 @ 12:36PM

In a move that is bound to simultaneously please and annoy most airline passengers, Emirates is busting out in-flight cellphone service for its planes, in partnership with Aeromobile. The service will be similar to that of Ryanair, 'cept Emirates plans to beat them to the punch by having its first 777 equipped by January, as opposed to mid-'07 for the competition. Rates for phone usage are apparently "comparable to international tariffs," meaning "dang expensive," but it should be at least a bit better than the extortion of those lame satellite phones. Also, the whole system can be controlled by the cabin crew, so phone operation can be limited to texting for overnight flights or whatnot. Aeromobile claims to be currently in talks with other airlines in regards to implementing its system, and expects in-flight call revenue to be as large as £1.5 billion (2.85 billion US) by 2010.




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