The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the ending of a ban on in-flight use of mobile devices.
This NPRM allows 30 days for public comment, until 14 February 2014. The FCC proposal seeks to revise outdated rules and adopt consistent new rules that will govern mobile communications services on airborne aircraft.
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Although the proposal filed by the federal agency does not aim to mandate that carriers to permit airborne mobile services, it will allow an airline company to take decision on whether to permit passengers to use cell phones for talking, sending text messages or browsing the internet in-flight.
At present, FCC rules ban usage of mobile devices due to their potential interference in the aircraft’s navigation systems.
However, with the development in technology, advanced products that are safe to use on-board aircraft have come into market.
The FCC’s proposed move will help in-flight connectivity providers such as OnAir.
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By GlobalDataMobile OnAir, the in-flight GSM service of OnAir, is currently being used by 18 airlines, including Aeroflot, British Airways, Emirates, All Nippon Airways, Qatar Airways, TAM and Singapore Airlines, for various activities such as email, social media and text messages.
Several airline companies in the US are interested in offering expanded in-flight use of mobile devices. However, none has so far announced plans to allow voice calls.
