European Union Okays Cell Phone Use For Air Travelers
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Expiration Date: December 31, 2009
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On Monday, the European Union cleared the way for air travelers to use mobile phones to talk, text or send e-mails on planes throughout Europe's airspace. With the EU approval, airlines will now be able to offer onboard service for cell phones that use the European GSM technology later this year.
 The United States and many other countries still ban the use of cellular phones and other mobile devices in the air because of concern they could disrupt a plane's instruments. Viviane Reding, the EU's telecommunications commissioner, warned phone operators not to set rates for the service too high and urged airlines to protect passengers from excessive phone use. The EU also urged airlines to set in-flight etiquette and ensure a balance between those wanting to make calls and others who want a few hours of quiet-time during a flight.
Several airlines, including Air France-KLM have already launched a trial of in-flight mobile phone services on some European routes. British Midland, also known as bmi; Portugal's TAP, and low-cost airline Ryanair are also planning to offer services later this year. Germany's Lufthansa, however, said Monday it does not want to introduce the service because a majority of its customers saw no need for phone calls during flights. Surveys had shown that a large majority of customers were against it, Lufthansa spokesman Jan Baerwalde said. Lufthansa will, however, look at providing fast Internet access on its planes, a service it already offered from 2004 until the end of 2006. The airline is currently looking for a new service partner to reintroduce the service.
The EU regulation sets a common standard by which passengers can safely use their mobile phones during flights and airlines will only need to get one national license to launch their services. Those licenses will apply across the entire 27-nation bloc. The equipment airlines install will also have to be approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency to ensure the onboard cellular network will not conflict with other in-flight systems. Mobile phones had been banned for fear they might interfere with a plane's navigation system as they attempt to log on to terrestrial networks.
Users of mobile phones and other wireless devices with roaming capability will be able to make and receive calls using a base station within the airplane. They will be allowed to turn their phones on after the plane reaches 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), when other electronic devices such as portable music players and laptops are permitted. Selmayr, the EU spokesman, said the phone services will not be available during takeoff, landing or during turbulence. He said the captain and crew of the plane can control when they want to switch off the onboard network. EU officials said the onboard network also made sure that callers could not link to terrestrial ones providing added security for the flight.
Most services that are being rolled out this year are being provided by OnAir, a unit of plane maker Airbus. Their services allow in-air telephone calls above 3,000-meter (9,800-feet) altitudes.
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