[nishantgandhi]

You can use your cell phone in the skies over Europe later this year under new rules that will allow air travelers to stay in touch — and raise the cringe-inducing prospect of sitting next to a chatterbox at 30,000 feet. But don’t expect to use your phone on a U.S. flight anytime soon. The decision Monday by the European Union makes the 27-nation bloc the first region in the world to scrap bans on the use of cell phones in the sky. The EU insists the change will not compromise safety. Cell phone calls will be connected through an onboard base station — think of a miniature cell phone tower — linked to a satellite and then to ground networks. A flight’s captain will have the power to turn off service anytime.

Phone service will be blocked during takeoff and landing, EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said. That means using your cell phone will fall under roughly the same restrictions as using your laptop or iPod. In Europe, travelers will be allowed to turn on their phones after planes climb past 10,000 feet. That’s when other electronic devices are typically permitted. Captains will also be able to block cell phone service during turbulence. The ban remains in place for all U.S. carriers, including domestic and international flights. Duquette said the FAA had not decided whether to block foreign carriers from allowing cell phone use when they enter U.S. airspace.

(Source-->AP)

[jkdas]

After two years of testing.

The service will be costly I guess.

[Steeroid]

You'll be able to do so on Emirates flights sooner. The technology is simple, though congestion is easy if there are too many users.

Pity - that marks the end of one last place where you could sleep undisturbed.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Pity - that marks the end of one last place where you could sleep undisturbed.

. Flying's a big pain anyways thesedays - the Europian Union's taking that one teeny step to make it a wee bit more so.

"Hello! I'm 10000m above sea-level. Thought I'd say 'hi', and see how you're doing, so I can disturb my fellow passenger a little more than the hopelessly cramped seat (s)he's trying to sleep on, and more than the person watching a movie with his/her headphones on max volume."

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

...Pity - that marks the end of one last place where you could sleep undisturbed.

So now your peaceful journey is going to sound like:
"Hello; how are you?; I am flying; what are you doing?; what else; and; what else; and; what else; ohhhh; is it; and; and; what else; ok; what else; and; and; and; ...."

This is when you stuff the ear plugs down into your ear canal and hope for the best!!!

[LLL]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Pity - that marks the end of one last place where you could sleep undisturbed.

yep...my ears are still paining after hearing about the love life of few 100 folks from a pretty damsel at bangalore and delhi airports and runways. she was forced to switch off her tweeter by air-hostess else the count would have been in millions.

once this tech gets introduced, we all will find such sauve and sophisticated ladies in planes telling everyone how un-cool her bf is...