Cell Phone Use on Airplanes: FCC Proposal Issued
So you're on a plane, preparing to take off. You send your last text messages and check your Facebook notifications before the flight attendant urges you to turn off your cell phone. You lose contact with everyone for the amount of time you are aboard the aircraft. For a generation that is glued to their cell phones every second of the day, this still might cause a bit of anxiety, but it's the way it is.
Turning off our cell phones during a flight is what were used to. But what if we no longer had to? What if we would be able to carry on conversations during a flight as we do on the ground? Well, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has made a proposal to make this a reality. The commission says "this proposal aims to give airline passengers the same communication access in the air that they have on trains, buses and coffee shops".
Phone calls, texting and internet access would be allowed on airplanes flying above 10,000 feet but still not during take off and landing. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler stated; "Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules". He is referring to the FCC ban on talking on mobile phones when "aboard an aircraft flight due to concerns that high-flying phones could disrupt cellular towers on the ground". Contrary to the rumored fact that the signal might interfere with the aircraft itself making it fall to the ground.
Reports claim that "a number of other nations around the world already allow cell phone inflight". So...is it our time? We must consider what this proposal really means. Think of those long flights where your focus is to get some sleep before you arrive. The person next to you will now be allowed to carry on a full conversation through out that flight where you are tired and you will now not be able to sleep. There's also your "loud talkers", the people who don't realize how loud their tone is while on the phone. At some point we all have experienced a bothersome cell phone conversation that we wished we couldn't hear on buses or trains, so is this really what we want?
We have to wait and see if this proposal is approved first and then the regulations that should be appointed with it. Maybe texting messaging and web surfing would be okay, but phone calls? At least not during red-eye flights. What do you think about this new proposal? Let us know your opinions!