In-Flight Cellphone Use Beginning to Arrive

Despite the back-and-forth about whether or not the FCC will ever allow in-flight cell phone use, it’s already starting to happen around the world.

Last week, we reported on how Qantas would be allowing e-mail and SMS messages on flights in and around Australia.

Similarly, Wired reports that Emirates Airlines is outfitting its planes with technology that will allow passengers to use their mobile phones in flight.

Emirates is partnering with AeroMobile, which the article states has developed technology that allows cellular phones to work at a low-enough level that they don’t risk interfering with a plane’s other systems.

Interestingly, Emirates says passengers will only be allowed to make five or six calls per flight—though that sounds like a bookkeeping nightmare to us. And the article also said that flight crews will have the power to turn the system on and off as needed, “making it less likely that the woman sitting in 26D is able to initiate a conference call at 3 in the morning.”

Image credit: Milica Sekulic/Creative Commons 2.0

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