US to consider cellphone use on planes

The Federal Communications Commission said it will soon propose allowing passengers to use their cellphones on airplanes, setting up a debate that will pit the technically possible against the socially tolerable.

While cellphone use would still be restricted during takeoff and landing, the proposal would lift an FCC ban on airborne calls and cellular-data use by passengers once a flight reaches 10,000 feet.

That would remove a regulatory hurdle to in-flight calls, but it would be up to the airlines themselves whether to allow them. Airlines have said they would approach the matter cautiously because of strong objections from their customers. The carriers also would have to install equipment on their planes to communicate with cellphone towers on the ground.

The Federal Aviation Administration said last month that it would allow expanded use of electronic devices during flights. Technical concerns about the airborne use of gadgets have faded. But the debate about the social merits of allowing people to make phone calls with a captive audience in the close confines of an airplane cabin promises to be vigorous. At least one FCC commissioner’s office was flooded Thursday by negative reaction to the proposal, an aide said.

Since 1991, the FCC has prohibited in-flight use of cellphones due to concerns that they could interfere with wireless networks on the ground. The FAA said recently that cellphones pose no safety threat to aircraft.

When the FCC made a similar proposal to lift the restriction in 2004, it received more than 8,000 comments. The commission backed down in 2007 after flight attendants and other groups argued that in-flight calls would be a nuisance. The FCC also was concerned by a “lack of technical information in the record upon which we may base a decision,” according to its 2007 decision.

That was the same year in which Apple Inc introduced the iPhone, and cellphone-related behavior has evolved since then.

Some international carriers have equipped their airplanes with cellphone technology, but they have to turn those systems off when entering U.S. airspace because of the FCC ban.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the nation’s largest flight attendant union, said it opposes the lifting of the in-flight cellphone ban. “There are far too many scenarios where in-flight cellphone use would have very negative effects on safety and security,” said union spokeswoman Corey Caldwell. “We don’t want attendants having to vie for passengers’ attention during emergency situations.”

A survey of 1,600 U.S. adults cited by the FAA showed a split on the issue, with 51% of respondents expressing negative reactions to in-flight phone calls and 47% responding positively.

Many U.S. airlines already could allow their passengers to make in-flight phone calls by using onboard Wi-Fi with programs such as Google  Voice and Skype, but virtually all U.S. airlines ban that technology, because they say their customers don’t want in-flight calls.

—online.wsj.com