US gov't weighs permitting cellphone calls on planes
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WASHINGTON -- Rules against making cellphone calls during airline flights are ``outdated,'' and it's time to change them, federal regulators said Thursday, drawing immediate howls of protest from flight attendants, airline officials and others.
Tom Wheeler, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said in a statement that the commission was proposing greater in-flight access to mobile broadband. The proposal will be considered at the commission's Dec. 12 meeting.
``The time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules,'' Wheeler said, adding that modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably.
The proposal would also allow passengers to use their smartphones to send email, text and download data. The proposal would apply to flights when they are over 10,000 feet (3,048 metres) in altitude, but not during takeoffs and landings.
The move came just 16 days after Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cellular telephone industry, took over the post of FCC chairman. The proposal to ease cellphone restrictions was greeted enthusiastically by the Telecommunications Industry Association.
The association ``supports initiatives to make mobile broadband services, including Internet access, available to passengers and flight crews aboard commercial airliners and private aircraft,'' Grant Seiffert, president of the trade group, said. ``Already, substantial (information and communications technology) manufacturer and vendor interest exists in this space, and our members are investing in related opportunities for growth internationally.''
Associated Press
