

FCC pledges to help the FAA in the review







Source: The Hill

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By RufusM on 12/7/2012 10:19:00 AM , Rating: 2
Once at altitude I think the signal is lost so it's only during taxiing, takeoff and landing that it would even be possible to use them anyway.

I think this is geared more towards some people/airlines not letting people use them for reading, music, video, games, etc. On most flights I've been able to use my phone to play music or watch video during the flight if it's in airplane mode, but there have been some flights where the flight attendants won't let you have a phone on at all, no exceptions, not even in airplane mode.

By tng on 12/10/2012 9:36:31 AM , Rating: 2
Once at altitude I think the signal is lost
No, not always, just depends on where your plane is in relation to the nearest cell tower. Remember that cell towers typically have a 8 mile range (?), and that is plenty of range to get to most commercial flights.

I have had the pleasure of putting my cell into my briefcase and then halfway though the flight my briefcase starts to ring because I forgot to turn the phone off.

By sorry dog on 12/10/2012 7:24:49 PM , Rating: 1
You might get lucky sometimes, but tower antenna is aimed towards 30,000 foot traffic and the reception angle isn't that wide (maybe 60 degrees-usually less). In fact, through out the day, an antenna often will be tilted to follow traffic...and the tilt isn't that much...10 degree max usually.

Now, if calls were universally allowed...then another sector could maybe be added at some sites aimed for sky traffic, but there would still be call quality issues. At interstate speeds you can usually use a tower 4 or 5 minutes before handoff but at 500mph that will be 40 seconds or less which the system won't like. Which brings up what I guess is part of the real reason your not supposed have your cell on. In urban areas more towers will be able to see your phone (even if at shitty signal levels) compared to ground use and that ties up more frequencies and reduces capacity/increases networks errors. So, I suspect the ban has more to do with that issue than any safety deals.

