"Hello darling, we just fell into an air pocket"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7334372.stm
Europe clears mobiles on aircraft
Mobile phone use is currently banned onboard aircraft
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Mobile phone calls will be allowed on planes flying in European airspace under new European Commission rules.
The decision means that mobiles could be used once a plane has reached an altitude of 3,000m or more.
It follows six months of consultation by the European regulator and the first services could launch next month.
Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms commissioner, has warned operators to
keep the cost of calls made on planes at a reasonable level.
"If consumers receive shock phone bills, the service will not take-off.
"I also call on airlines and operators to create the right
conditions on board aircraft to ensure that those who want to use
in-flight communication services do not disturb other passengers," she
said.
The European Commission has introduced new rules to harmonise
the technical requirements for the safe in-flight use of mobile phones.
The commission is also making it possible to enable the
national licences granted to individual airlines by a member state to
be recognised throughout the EU.
The decision to offer the services now falls to individual
airlines. However, there are other regulatory hurdles to overcome
before the technology is considered to be fully approved.
The European Aviation Safety Agency still needs to approve any
hardware that would be installed in aircraft to ensure that it did not
interfere with other flight systems.
The plan is to install small mobile phone base stations, called pico
cells, in aircraft that will be switched on after take-off. The base
station generates a bubble of coverage in and around the aircraft.
Calls made via the pico cell will be routed to terrestrial
networks via satellite link. Across Europe radio spectrum has been set
aside for the technology.
The services could stop working once aircraft leave European airspace.
Martin Selmayr, spokesman for Ms Reding's office, said that
flight captains would be able to switch off the on-board service if
they felt it necessary.
Initially, only second generation networks will be offered but
growing interest would mean that third generation, or 3G, services will
follow.
The first flights offering calls could start as early as next month.
Air France is believed to be ready to deploy the technology while Ryanair is expected to submit an application.
The cost of making a mobile phone call from a plane will be higher than making one from the ground.
In the UK, regulator Ofcom said it would investigate and address
any evidence of "excessive charges and abuses of competition" if prices
were set unfairly by airlines and mobile networks.
Ms Redding has said the EC had no plans to cap the cost of calls made on planes.
The European Commission backing means planes registered in one
country would be able to offer mobile communications services to
passengers when flying over other EU countries without having to apply
for additional national licences.