Wifi and 3G on Airlines, your thoughts

[SNSE]

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but since I'm involved in the ensuing broo-ha, I thought I'd jump a little ahead of the FCC and the curve of technology, and find out everyone's thoughts of what should eventually happen.

Currently, Verizon and other companies are arguing at the FCC for re-farming the air to ground band adjacent to the cellular band. It is no great secret that everyone is working on Wi-fi in the cabin as well as 3G services on your phone (both CDMA and GSM).

Now, while all of this has a lot of wrangling at the FCC and with the FAA, I wanted to get feedback from the masses on what you would like/dislike about having voice and data services available on airlines. And yes, it's probably not a matter of if, but when. As recently as two weeks ago Qualcomm and American Airlines tested a 3G CDMA base station picocell on an airliner.

Thoughts?

[Andy]

Originally Posted by SNSE

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but since I'm involved in the ensuing broo-ha, I thought I'd jump a little ahead of the FCC and the curve of technology, and find out everyone's thoughts of what should eventually happen.

Currently, Verizon and other companies are arguing at the FCC for re-farming the air to ground band adjacent to the cellular band. It is no great secret that everyone is working on Wi-fi in the cabin as well as 3G services on your phone (both CDMA and GSM).

Now, while all of this has a lot of wrangling at the FCC and with the FAA, I wanted to get feedback from the masses on what you would like/dislike about having voice and data services available on airlines. And yes, it's probably not a matter of if, but when. As recently as two weeks ago Qualcomm and American Airlines tested a 3G CDMA base station picocell on an airliner.

Thoughts?

I think it would be great to be able to use voice/data services while in the air... my trips wouldn't be so boring, consisting of me staring at my turned-off phone

[Sprint PCS 411]

I would rather be safe than sorry...

and i don't understand why you cannot bring a portable walkman (with headphones)... i mean the radio waves are already going through the air and all you are doing is recieving them

[crood]

The safety issue is not a big concern for me, as I believe those technical issues can be worked out. I think that the biggest safety issue on an airplane is the maintence budget.

I'm more concerned with people talking on phones throughout the flight. I like to nap on a plane and would not look forward to hearing the person next to me gab on the phone and/or have it ring the whole time. You are more or less trapped when in flight. On the data side, I can see where it might be nice to be able to send and receive email, if you're flying on business. However, it's nice to be unavailable sometimes and have a legitimate reason. You can only use the dead battery excuse so many times.

[ehcruzan]

I wouldn't mind data, but voice would be annoying. It's bad enough that people can't keep their conversations private on the ground. I would hate to be subjected to this while flying.

[budney]

Originally Posted by ehcruzan

I wouldn't mind data, but voice would be annoying. It's bad enough that people can't keep their conversations private on the ground. I would hate to be subjected to this while flying.

Same here.

[axvx8xoxr]

One of the major reasons you're not allowed to use your cell phone in an aircraft has nothing to do with "effecting the navigational equipment of the aircraft" (trust me, i've used cell phones plenty of times on the flight deck, and that excuse is BS).

Their concern is the same as its always been, what if you were, during taxi, take off or landing, on a cell phone, using a laptop, or playing GameBoy, and you had to suddenly evacuate the plane. It is far easier for both the airlines and the FAA to say "no electronic devices, and no cell phones at any time" than to single out certain kinds of devices. The last thing flight attendants would need in an emergency is for people to be oblivious to what's going on around them when they are trying to instruct passengers what to do.

And, for what it's worth, it would be annoying to be on an airliner having to listen to the conversations of 200 other people while you are trying to rest.

[Bugwart]

I find that noise cancelling headphones are a great solution for sleeping. They reduce all the backgound noises, including the jet engine drone, conversations, crying babies, etc.

The airlines will want to make money on these airborne connections. Therefore pricing could limit long voice calls. Just make voice connections expensive and data connections and SMS cheap.