The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad future of aviation. Photograph via Shutterstock.
The Federal Communications Commission said today it intends to propose allowing commercial airliners to install equipment making it possible for passengers to make phone calls during flight.
“Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a news release. The FCC will discuss the proposed rule change at its December 12 meeting.
The FCC’s announcement comes just a few weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration came around to the fact that iPads and laptops do not disrupt aviation equipment. But the FAA’s rule change kept in place longstanding restrictions on using cellular signals during flight.
In order to make it possible to use a cell phone during flight, airlines would install equipment that carries wireless signals via satellite from the ground to planes, similar to a system already in place in Europe. The European Commission last week approved allowing air passengers there to make calls during flight.
Why You’ll Never Want to Fly Ever Again
The FCC is poised to allow cell phone calls during flights.
The Federal Communications Commission said today it intends to propose allowing commercial airliners to install equipment making it possible for passengers to make phone calls during flight.
“Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a news release. The FCC will discuss the proposed rule change at its December 12 meeting.
The FCC’s announcement comes just a few weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration came around to the fact that iPads and laptops do not disrupt aviation equipment. But the FAA’s rule change kept in place longstanding restrictions on using cellular signals during flight.
In order to make it possible to use a cell phone during flight, airlines would install equipment that carries wireless signals via satellite from the ground to planes, similar to a system already in place in Europe. The European Commission last week approved allowing air passengers there to make calls during flight.
Most Popular in News & Politics
5 Facts About Dumfries, Virginia, the Possible New Home of the Washington Commanders
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People
Trucker Convoy Stragglers Get Kicked Out of Racetrack, Form New Movement, Visit the National Mall, Don’t Go Home
2022 Tech Titans
Number of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Hits Record Low
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2022: Fantastic Foodie Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
A Johnny Cash Statue Is Coming to the Capitol
LGBTQ Pioneer Barney Frank’s Story Is Now a Graphic Novel
Inside the Effort to Revamp the DC Archives
This DC Poet Was Once the USSR’s Biggest Kid Actor
More from News & Politics
5 Facts About Dumfries, Virginia, the Possible New Home of the Washington Commanders
Trucker Convoy Stragglers Get Kicked Out of Racetrack, Form New Movement, Visit the National Mall, Don’t Go Home
The Trucker Convoy Has Given Up on DC Yet Again. We Tried One Last Time to Find Out What They Wanted.
Number of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Hits Record Low
The Lincoln Memorial Is 100 Years Old. Here’s How to Celebrate It.
The Hill’s Newsroom Petitions to Unionize
2022 Tech Titans
A Johnny Cash Statue Is Coming to the Capitol