British regulators OK cell phones in planes

Fri Apr 4, 2008 11:28AM EDT

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One of the final hurdles preventing Europeans from chit-chatting on their cell phones while hurtling through Euro airspace has been cleared, as UK regulator Ofcom (akin to our FCC), has given the OK for cell phones to be used on planes, as long as they're above 3,000 meters. (Many of the other approvals required across Europe have already been granted.)

While the idea of airborne cell phone usage has been a public disaster in the U.S., Europeans seem somewhat warmer to the notion. Perhaps it's the generally shorter flights that tend to dominate Europe, or perhaps it's cultural: Cramped, loud buses and subways tend to be the norm, so the additional noise of a few people on their phones may tend to bother Europeans less than it does their privacy-and-silence-obsessed American counterparts.

Just because Ofcom has signed off, though, that doesn't mean that cell phones will immediately start being whipped out as soon as that 10,000-foot bell chimes en route to Grenoble. It's up to individual airlines now to decide whether they want to offer cell phone in-flight services, and then they have to install the equipment on their planes to make it work. Europe's Aviation Safety Agency also has to approve any new equipment installed on planes (though this is not seen as a major obstacle; all new electronics devices installed on jets have to be approved in this manner). It's also worth noting that no airline has formally applied for permission to offer such services yet, though this is probably just a matter of time.

Of course, in the U.S., no such plans are underway, though those hopeful for getting Internet access while airborne are in for a treat. This week, the FAA approved plans for American Airlines to offer in-flight Wi-Fi service, and that approval can potentially be applied to any U.S. airline that wants to offer the same type of technology (provided by Aircell). No news on a date when such services will be turned on, but many are hoping to have live Wi-Fi rolled out on at least a few planes by the end of the year.

UPDATE: The EU has OK'd the plan, too. 

Previously: The Refrain in Spain is Mainly on the Plane
Europe Closer to Allowing Cell Phones on Planes

Comments on British regulators OK cell phones in planes

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  • 46 Posted by terry.ambler on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    Funny that the US governent in the cover up of Flight 93 produced some recordings of people talking on their phones, talking to loved ones before the crash. When, as this article suggests, it was not possible to phone people. And where was the wreckage, bodies, luggage?

  • 47 Posted by coopercatcash on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    LOL MERMMEL72... WERE GONNA HAVE CELL SERVICE ON THE MOON VERY SOON!

  • 48 Posted by valaire103 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    please please NO CELLPHONES! its so annoying and always some person abuses it to the fullest. Limited to text messages yes! but how would the airline control that?....it really is not needed.

  • 49 Posted by tuttt99 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ummm I thought you could talk on your cell on a plane anyway? I mean if you can't, then how did the passengers do it on 9-11? Just throwing it out there! They were talking on the AirPhones, which used to be provided by airlines mainly in the 1990's (on the back of the center seats) Their cell phones only became operational when they descended to lower altitudes.

  • 50 Posted by wpo3428 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    The prospect of listening to cell phone conversations while flying will make me fly less often or on airlines that do not allow this privilege. Anyone who thinks that cell phone users will be respectful has not been paying attention.

  • 51 Posted by vic.tawr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'M GOING TO PRISON!! I can barely control my "gonna' take that effin' phone & beat you over the head" instinct at stores, restaurants, parking lots and of course adjacent automobiles. You know what I mean; loud, ignorant and obnoxious, and in the case of the hand-gesturing cell phoning driver, outright dangerous. Heaven help anyone on a flight with me who engages in a loud b.s. phone call. I believe the authorities get pretty angry at passengers who act violent, don't they? JUSTIFIED! Victoria

  • 52 Posted by isabella1880 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yes, well if the Americans don't want it, there is a good chance TransAt. flights will still be quiet. Good, it means I can still visit my Stateside families in peace. Having been a life-long TransAt. flyer I know my habits well, I like to eat, watch a film, sleep and eat again, I do not want to listen to constant chatter. But if European flights are going to be full of the mobile obsessed, the airline companies have just given me the added incentive to convert my travel plans to the more green choice and from now on I shall be visiting Mainland Europe on the train. It's about you being considerate. How about consideration for those of us who do NOT want to listen to your conversation? If you can't handle a few hours 'alone' perhaps you should not fly?

  • 53 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Am I the only one who realizes that regulations and rules can be put into effect on planes, such as putting your phone on vibrate as soon as you get on the flight, or having to keep your conversations down low as to not disturb your fellow passengers or you will firmly reprimanded. They could also have a phone box: an area with sound proof material where people have their phone convo's. Anyways I'm all for the idea of wifi internet on planes, I remember how nervous I was one time I was on a flight to Nevada from Mexico and I couldn't check my bills online to make sure I had nothing overdue during the time I was in Mexico. WiFi I'm all for, but if they were to allow phones on planes I would make sure they had strict regulations and rules including the times you were strictly not allowed to use your cell-phones. For example if someone was on a flight that was over two hours or was overnight, cell phones would not be allowed to be used after dark. As for WiFi on United States planes, most likely if the WiFi wasn't free, nobody would use it at all and therefore their little idea(if that's what they had in mind) about making some money on the side would go up in flames...like the Hindenburg. Also as for the fact of being able to use cell phones on planes at all. I myself conducted an important yet very quiet call to my power company, with MY cell phone and without any cell boosters, to tell them to turn my power back on at my place at a cruising altitude of 37,000ft(btw I used to live less than five miles away from a cell tower yet, I always get better signal while I'm on a plane). So I don't get why all these people say they would have to put in special electronic devices in order for a person to make a call. Although I am a 19yr old teenager, I myself have never made a cell phone call loud enough to wake my neighbor on a plane, so if I can make a quiet phone call, so can everybody else. It's just a matter of control, because not only have I called my girlfriend on my cell phone from a plane and was a quiet as a mouse but I also have had interesting conversations with a person in the next aisle without disturbing anyone near me. So, not ALL people who like to stay in contact with all the people they know 24/7 are extremely loud.

  • 54 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Am I the only one who realizes that regulations and rules can be put into effect on planes, such as putting your phone on vibrate as soon as you get on the flight, or having to keep your conversations down low as to not disturb your fellow passengers or you will firmly reprimanded. They could also have a phone box: an area with sound proof material where people have their phone convo's. Anyways I'm all for the idea of wifi internet on planes, I remember how nervous I was one time I was on a flight to Nevada from Mexico and I couldn't check my bills online to make sure I had nothing overdue during the time I was in Mexico. WiFi I'm all for, but if they were to allow phones on planes I would make sure they had strict regulations and rules including the times you were strictly not allowed to use your cell-phones. For example if someone was on a flight that was over two hours or was overnight, cell phones would not be allowed to be used after dark. As for WiFi on United States planes, most likely if the WiFi wasn't free, nobody would use it at all and therefore their little idea(if that's what they had in mind) about making some money on the side would go up in flames...like the Hindenburg. Also as for the fact of being able to use cell phones on planes at all. I myself conducted an important yet very quiet call to my power company, with MY cell phone and without any cell boosters, to tell them to turn my power back on at my place at a cruising altitude of 37,000ft(btw I used to live less than five miles away from a cell tower yet, I always get better signal while I'm on a plane). So I don't get why all these people say they would have to put in special electronic devices in order for a person to make a call. Although I am a 19yr old teenager, I myself have never made a cell phone call loud enough to wake my neighbor on a plane, so if I can make a quiet phone call, so can everybody else. It's just a matter of control, because not only have I called my girlfriend on my cell phone from a plane and was a quiet as a mouse but I also have had interesting conversations with a person in the next aisle without disturbing anyone near me. So, not ALL people who like to stay in contact with all the people they know 24/7 are extremely loud.

  • 55 Posted by elesadako on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    wait till YOU are the one that needs to chat on the phone, will you still be complaining about other people when it is YOU who is blabbering to the whole plane despite speaking in the phone only? you people only think about the peace and quiet (so yes i agree with the author that americans are so privacy obsessed) for YOURselves but if it comes to you, i doubt you will think twice about sharing your conversations with rows J K H and I. then now come to think of it, arent the americans obsessed with freedom of speach too? so it doesnt apply while 3000 feet up in the sky? for me, i would love being able to use the phone on the plane. i have hated this restriction ever since i first sat on a plane. i dont even use up my talk time most months, but i would still love to have my phone switched on.

  • 56 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Am I the only one who realizes that regulations and rules can be put into effect on planes, such as putting your phone on vibrate as soon as you get on the flight, or having to keep your conversations down low as to not disturb your fellow passengers or you will firmly reprimanded. They could also have a phone box: an area with sound proof material where people have their phone convo's. Anyways I'm all for the idea of wifi internet on planes, I remember how nervous I was one time I was on a flight to Nevada from Mexico and I couldn't check my bills online to make sure I had nothing overdue during the time I was in Mexico. WiFi I'm all for, but if they were to allow phones on planes I would make sure they had strict regulations and rules including the times you were strictly not allowed to use your cell-phones. For example if someone was on a flight that was over two hours or was overnight, cell phones would not be allowed to be used after dark. As for WiFi on United States planes, most likely if the WiFi wasn't free, nobody would use it at all and therefore their little idea(if that's what they had in mind) about making some money on the side would go up in flames...like the Hindenburg. Also as for the fact of being able to use cell phones on planes at all. I myself conducted an important yet very quiet call to my power company, with MY cell phone and without any cell boosters, to tell them to turn my power back on at my place at a cruising altitude of 37,000ft(btw I used to live less than five miles away from a cell tower yet, I always get better signal while I'm on a plane). So I don't get why all these people say they would have to put in special electronic devices in order for a person to make a call. Although I am a 19yr old teenager, I myself have never made a cell phone call loud enough to wake my neighbor on a plane, so if I can make a quiet phone call, so can everybody else. It's just a matter of control, because not only have I called my girlfriend on my cell phone from a plane and was a quiet as a mouse but I also have had interesting conversations with a person in the next aisle without disturbing anyone near me. So, not ALL people who like to stay in contact with all the people they know 24/7 are extremely loud.

  • 57 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Am I the only one who realizes that regulations and rules can be put into effect on planes, such as putting your phone on vibrate as soon as you get on the flight, or having to keep your conversations down low as to not disturb your fellow passengers or you will firmly reprimanded. They could also have a phone box: an area with sound proof material where people have their phone convo's. Anyways I'm all for the idea of wifi internet on planes, I remember how nervous I was one time I was on a flight to Nevada from Mexico and I couldn't check my bills online to make sure I had nothing overdue during the time I was in Mexico. WiFi I'm all for, but if they were to allow phones on planes I would make sure they had strict regulations and rules including the times you were strictly not allowed to use your cell-phones. For example if someone was on a flight that was over two hours or was overnight, cell phones would not be allowed to be used after dark. As for WiFi on United States planes, most likely if the WiFi wasn't free, nobody would use it at all and therefore their little idea(if that's what they had in mind) about making some money on the side would go up in flames...like the Hindenburg. Also as for the fact of being able to use cell phones on planes at all. I myself conducted an important yet very quiet call to my power company, with MY cell phone and without any cell boosters, to tell them to turn my power back on at my place at a cruising altitude of 37,000ft(btw I used to live less than five miles away from a cell tower yet, I always get better signal while I'm on a plane). So I don't get why all these people say they would have to put in special electronic devices in order for a person to make a call. Although I am a 19yr old teenager, I myself have never made a cell phone call loud enough to wake my neighbor on a plane, so if I can make a quiet phone call, so can everybody else. It's just a matter of control, because not only have I called my girlfriend on my cell phone from a plane and was a quiet as a mouse but I also have had interesting conversations with a person in the next aisle without disturbing anyone near me. So, not ALL people who like to stay in contact with all the people they know 24/7 are extremely loud.

  • 58 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Am I the only one who realizes that regulations and rules can be put into effect on planes, such as putting your phone on vibrate as soon as you get on the flight, or having to keep your conversations down low as to not disturb your fellow passengers or you will firmly reprimanded. They could also have a phone box: an area with sound proof material where people have their phone convo's. Anyways I'm all for the idea of wifi internet on planes, I remember how nervous I was one time I was on a flight to Nevada from Mexico and I couldn't check my bills online to make sure I had nothing overdue during the time I was in Mexico. WiFi I'm all for, but if they were to allow phones on planes I would make sure they had strict regulations and rules including the times you were strictly not allowed to use your cell-phones. For example if someone was on a flight that was over two hours or was overnight, cell phones would not be allowed to be used after dark. As for WiFi on United States planes, most likely if the WiFi wasn't free, nobody would use it at all and therefore their little idea(if that's what they had in mind) about making some money on the side would go up in flames...like the Hindenburg. Also as for the fact of being able to use cell phones on planes at all. I myself conducted an important yet very quiet call to my power company, with MY cell phone and without any cell boosters, to tell them to turn my power back on at my place at a cruising altitude of 37,000ft(btw I used to live less than five miles away from a cell tower yet, I always get better signal while I'm on a plane). So I don't get why all these people say they would have to put in special electronic devices in order for a person to make a call. Although I am a 19yr old teenager, I myself have never made a cell phone call loud enough to wake my neighbor on a plane, so if I can make a quiet phone call, so can everybody else. It's just a matter of control, because not only have I called my girlfriend on my cell phone from a plane and was a quiet as a mouse but I also have had interesting conversations with a person in the next aisle without disturbing anyone near me. So, not ALL people who like to stay in contact with all the people they know 24/7 are extremely loud.

  • 59 Posted by slimfastfatboy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hi esquire1day, thanks for replying directly to me and not just generally posting. The truth is that phone masts in fact DON%

  • 60 Posted by colinwoodnz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    OH MY GOD! Now this article has brought the Conspiracy theorists out of the woodwork,with regard to 9/11. GET A LIFE.

  • 61 Posted by scarletprojectionist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:07PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think you are hard on Americans here and are exaggerating the general value of cell phone usage. There is a difference between a twenty minute train/subway ride and the nine-hour flights I tend to find myself on, for Brits and Americans. I once saw a Brit upset because the man next to her wouldn't turn off his computer after they dimmed the cabin lights for people to sleep; do you think people with mobile phones would be more welcome?

  • 62 Posted by mat_ches2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    "privacy-and-silence-obsessed American counterparts" whoever wrote this needs to come off the crack!!!

  • 63 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    but seriously people, do you really think that the airlines are just going to let people do whatever they want with their cellphones? Do you really think that people will be allowed to get on the plane with their ringers on? Do you really think that all Americans shout into their phones? If they're is anything I can say on the behalf of young people is the fact that its not us young people shouting into our phones, its the people who are already in their late 30s and 40s who don't understand that you no longer have to shout into a phone to be heard. I swear, when I finally convinced my mom to get a cell phone it took me forever to get her to understand that phones these days are not as archaic as the one Alexander Graham Bell invented and Thomas Edison improved. Most people blame the young people for being loud HA! Try telling that to a teenager who has listened to his or her mom or dad shouting into the phone: "CAN YOU HEAR ME HONEY!!?" "YES I CAN HEAR YOU!" "SHOULD WE STOP SHOUTING NOW DARLING?" "NO LET'S SHOUT LOUDER!" "OKAY!"

  • 64 Posted by leonheart390 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    but seriously people, do you really think that the airlines are just going to let people do whatever they want with their cellphones? Do you really think that people will be allowed to get on the plane with their ringers on? Do you really think that all Americans shout into their phones? If they're is anything I can say on the behalf of young people is the fact that its not us young people shouting into our phones, its the people who are already in their late 30s and 40s who don't understand that you no longer have to shout into a phone to be heard. I swear, when I finally convinced my mom to get a cell phone it took me forever to get her to understand that phones these days are not as archaic as the one Alexander Graham Bell invented and Thomas Edison improved. Most people blame the young people for being loud HA! Try telling that to a teenager who has listened to his or her mom or dad shouting into the phone: "CAN YOU HEAR ME HONEY!!?" "YES I CAN HEAR YOU!" "SHOULD WE STOP SHOUTING NOW DARLING?" "NO LET'S SHOUT LOUDER!" "OKAY!"

  • 65 Posted by elesadako on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    oh yeah one more point. many of you make it sound like 200 people will be chatting on the phone as soon as they warm the seat or that you will be purposedly placed next to a loud yaker for every single flight you take, as if on some blacklist. have u never come across babies crying, a bunch of playful kids running up and down the isle, or simply just a couple of normal people having a conversation (PS, conversations are NOT meant to be in whispers)??? what someone said earlier on was correct. what crazy freaky controlling minds that you people have. are you going to chain strap people to their seats and gag everyone just because YOUR eardrums are made of 24K gold??? stop thinking about yourselves only!

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