It may soon be possible to use mobile phones may on planes
Rushda:
October 19th, 2007
Regulators across Europe are strongly considering making it possible to make phone calls even when in a plane more than 3,000 metres in the sky. Indeed, technology is being developed which will allow mobile phone use without interfering with the aircraft systems.
The plans are flexible as they will allow individual airlines to choose whether they use the technology. As a spokesperson from Virgin Airlines has said:
“We are monitoring customer demand and will act if they say they want to use their mobile phones. If we were to introduce this service in the future we want to ensure we do it in a socially acceptable way.”
The costs of making calls from the sky would understandably be much higher than when on the ground. However, this would only be reasonable and Ofcom has said that it will make sure airlines don’t charge extortionately for the privilege. Ofcom also says that there are still many different considerations to sort out before reaching a final approval, but it is still a likely development in the near future.
It sounds like a great plan, especially for those people travelling on long flights that need to make urgent contact whilst in the air. To say “Hi, I’m on the plane now” to someone thousands of metres down on the ground certainly seems remarkable!