Source: Boston Globe
Author: Keith Reed

Gayle James doesn't want the Federal Communications Commission to lift its in-flight ban on cellphones in airplanes, and here's why:

"I was seated next to a very loud man who was explaining his next porn movie on his cellphone," wrote James, of Shelton, Wash. "Everyone on that plane was subjected to his explicit blabbering. Should cell use during flight be allowed, we had all better be prepared for a whole lot of air rage going on."

James's comments echo how many people -- from passengers to pilots -- feel about the FCC's proposal to allow the use of cellphones during flights. For more than a decade, the commission and the Federal Aviation Administration have barred in-flight use of cellphones over fears about interference with cellphone towers on the ground and aircraft navigational and communications equipment.

More than 7,700 individuals, companies, and associations filed written comments with the FCC after it proposed lifting the ban last December. A Globe review of roughly 50 such comments, as well as interviews with passengers, found that the public is fervently against the measure.

FCC spokeswoman Lauren Patrich said the commission has not set a timetable on when it will make a decision. Even if the FCC lifts its ban, the FAA would also have to lift its ban before in-flight cellphone use would be permitted. The agency has commissioned a study on the effects of cellphone use on a plane's electronic systems and expects the results early next year. If both agencies lift their bans, individual airlines would then decide whether to allow in-flight cellphone use.

The FCC is considering an end to its cellphone ban to give more opportunities for consumers to use their cellphones and other wireless devices and give more communications options in the event of an emergency in the air, such as passengers contacting law enforcement on the ground.

But passengers oppose lifting the ban because they fear it would invite obnoxious babble in the close confines of a jet cabin. Pilots and flight attendants, many writing in as part of organized campaigns, said their jobs would be tougher because it would be harder to get passengers' attention.

"The introduction of cellphone use in the cabin will not only increase tension among passengers, it will compromise flight attendants' ability to maintain order in an emergency," wrote American Airlines flight attendant Heidi Sakacs.

Keith Owens, a pilot for Comair, which handles regional flights for Delta Air Lines out of Logan International Airport, worries that the noise from passengers chattering on phones could distract the crew. "Safety of a flight would be a big issue. I'm 100 percent against it," he said.

United Airlines said it doesn't plan to allow cellphones in flight even if the government gives the green light. "At this time, we're against it," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski, noting that 80 percent of United's passengers have said they prefer wireless Internet access over cellphone availability during flights.

Northwest Airlines has no position on the measure but wants more studies on whether cellphone conversations would interfere with airplane systems that allow pilots to communicate with air traffic controllers on the ground.

Support for lifting the ban comes with caveats. Some cellphone companies said they hope to provide the service in the future as long as airborne conversations won't hurt signals for cellphone users on the ground.

A joint statement from the Homeland Security and Justice departments noted they ''support the Commission's efforts to make additional communications options available" but spelled out fears that terrorists could use cellphones to communicate with each other on planes.

"The use of personal wireless telephones onboard aircraft could potentially facilitate a coordinated attack," wrote the agencies in a letter signed by four high-ranking FBI and Homeland Security officials.

The public comment period ended late last month, but the FCC has yet to review all the comments, a spokeswoman said. Several agencies and unions who filed comments said they had not reviewed all the comments, either, and don't know how many people support or oppose the proposal.

Since 1991, the FCC has prohibited airborne cellphone use because of the potential for signals coming from planes to interfere with land-based networks controlled by companies like Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

On the ground, cellphones are designed to look for the nearest tower, which relay conversations through the air. People and cars move at relatively low speeds, so most cellphones communicate with just one tower at a time.

Airplanes fly at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour, a speed at which cellphones would contact multiple towers within seconds. If that happened on a massive scale, cellphone experts said, the towers would be overwhelmed, wreaking havoc on service for customers on the ground.

"We want to look to make sure that all of these technical issues are addressed before anyone moves forward with anything," said James Fisher, a spokesman for wireless provider Sprint in Washington, D.C., which has not taken a position on the measure.

Despite widespread opposition, some passengers just want to talk.

"On the basis that they can establish that it's safe and doesn't interfere with the airplane's equipment, I'd use my phone," said James A. Schwartz, president of JAS Consulting. He spent the final moments before taking off from Logan on Tuesday adjusting his seat belt and making a few phone calls.