The news has been making its way through the media and the blogs over the last day – the FCC is considering removing the ban on cell phone usage when planes are in flight. The proposal is on the docket for discussion by the panel at their December meeting. When this proposal was made in 2004, over 8,000 comments came in about it. This time, the FCC has been flooded by callers not happy with this idea.
If the FCC does approve this measure, it will be up the individual airlines to make the final call over whether they will install the necessary equipment. Should an airline make that move, it is most likely that the other airlines would have to follow suit if it is found that customers grow warm to the idea. However, given that special equipment will have to be installed to bridge the gap between the cell phone and the cell towers on the ground, the airlines would be able to charge a hefty fee for the service (think the price of GoGo).
Here is a mini-rant on the subject – I sincerely hope that this does not happen! One of my pet peeves when boarding the airplane is hearing “important” business people talking loudly on their cell phones about the huge deal they are brokering right then. Another peeve is when we land and it seems everyone gets out their phone to call co-workers, family, friends to tell them that the flight landed. The noise level is always very high – in fact, it seems that people talk louder on their cell phones when near airplanes than they do in most other public places. Have you ever noticed business people that are boarding the airplanes with their co-workers? They always seem to be talking about how much money they deal with in business – like they don’t work with each other every day and always have a chance to talk about things like that! 🙂 End rant
So, back to the original question – who benefits from phones being used on planes? Answer – BOSE! 🙂 That’s right, if cell phones are allowed to be used on airplanes in flight, the sale of headphones such as the Bose Quietcomfort series will definitely go up to frequent flyers. Who knows, if this proposal passes, maybe we will have to have a giveaway for a pair of those to “celebrate” like we did with the Kindle for the new rule on electronic devices! 🙂
