Senators Propose Bill Prohibiting Phone Calls On Planes 513
SonicSpike writes with news that two U.S. Senators, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), have proposed legislation to ban cell phone calls while aboard an airplane. This follows a recent announcement from the FAA increasing the range of electronic gadgets travelers can use while flying, and a vote by the FCC to consider allowing phone calls during flight. However, even as those government agencies work to lift regulations on in-flight technology, the Department of Transportation is pondering a in-flight call ban of its own, saying it might not be "fair" to consumers to have to listen to other passengers talk on the phone throughout a long flight. FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said, "If we move beyond what we do here today and actually update our rules to allow voice calls on planes we can see a future where our quiet time is monetized and seating in the silent section comes at a premium."
Re:Planes have had phones for years (Score:4, Interesting)
Most airlines have or are adding Internet service to their planes, and some are contemplating using it to provide a cellular microcell (acts like a tower and connects to your cellular provider over Internet). I think the plans right now are to set it up as a third party cell and you'd get charged roaming rates on it if you used it. But it's not difficult to conceive a future where the roaming rates have been scaled back to a few cents/min or eliminated altogether from the cellular carriers competing (hah!) and deciding to just pay the airlines to provide their service.