The Real Story of Why You Can't Use Your Cell Phone On an Airplane

a reply to: devilhunter69

That sure makes it easy to remember your number. I don't remember many people's phone numbers anymore because I don't have to. However, having your number as long as you've had it, I bet people still remember it.

a reply to: Dapaga

I don't remember many people's phone numbers anymore...

This is a weird factoid. I remember every single phone number of every single person I've ever known since childhood. Seriously. And I have no idea why. Completely useless information. But every business contact phone number, every childhood friend, every girlfriend...literally every person I've ever known.

I can't remember names for sh!t, but if I ever learn a name I will never forget it. I don't have any other weird memory issues like the phone number one though. For example, unlike Mary Lou Henner, I can't tell you what day it was on March 3rd, 1979, but when it comes to phone numbers, especially 10 digit like (xxx) yyy-zzzz type phone numbers, I remember every one of them. And it freaks people out too. Someone will ask for someone's phone number and five people will pull out their phones to start going through the directory, and I can just immediately recite it off the top of my head. BOOM!

It's a completely useless waste of brain space because most of the numbers are long obsolete or changed, but still, I remember them.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

That's a neat trick.

I wonder if the 10 digit format doesn't create some sort of synesthesia within you, making it easier to recall the melody of the number.

a reply to: Dapaga

I'm sure it does have something to do with it. When I was stationed over in SE Asia, I had to go down to Australia to work on a number of projects. Their phone number schema was also (10) digits, but their area codes were only (2) digits. So, a number there looks like (xx) yyyy-zzzz. This threw me off completely. I can't remember any of those numbers (for some odd reason). I think part of the reason is, at least when I was there, the area code isn't really a big deal unless you call long distance, so the reality was an (8) digit phone number, or two sets of (4) digits.

I never really knew anyone there, or many people anyway, so I never really memorized many of those numbers.

But here's another weird thing. In Malaysia, where I was stationed, the numbers there were also (10) digits in the same format as the US, but there you had to remember the country code in front of the area code (making them (12) or (13) digit numbers). Oddly, I can remember all those numbers too, even with the country code. It's a weird, and completely useless, "thing".

I guess I was born with this affliction.

The real reson two planes hit the twin towers!
The passengers wear all calling people as they
thought they would die from the high jack.

the airplane Got jamed by all the moblie signels.
so the airplanes followd the moblie signals to the
transceiver on the top of the twin towers.

Sarcasum !

a reply to: Scratchpost

I realize you were just having some fun, but I will speak for myself when I say...finding any humor in the events of 9-11 is a tough one for me.

To me it's akin to slagging on someone's dead mom...at their funeral.

Buzz-kill, I know. Sorry.

originally posted by: Dapaga

A little relevant history...

In 1992, for about two years, I sold cellular phones. I worked for United States Cellular who, at the time, was one of the larger carriers.

For anyone who might remember, cellular phones were permanently installed in your automobile then. The car battery powered the phone. Some phones could be detached and placed into a "bag" for portability. The bag was a leather pouch which contained a battery and antenna (bag phone).

While employed there, I had a phone installed in my car. This is kind of what it looked like..

As a fun reminder, after about six months in, a true mobile phone, made by Motorola, was introduced to us. This is what it looked like...

This is what it looked like with the extended-life battery....

I don't remember all the costs of the wireless plans, but I believe our largest plan included 1000 minutes for a monthly fee of $250. Anything over your pre-paid minutes cost you $.99 a minute. One second over a minute, cost you the full $.99. Needless say, talking minutes were the golden eggs of early cellular.... especially the roaming minutes.

Every companies' biggest selling point was it's coverage area. The more towers your company owned, the larger your potential coverage area. Each company built their own towers, and they had to obtain all necessary licensing for their territory. No single company had enough towers or territory to offer coverage across the full United States. They fought for territory, and a company couldn't put their towers in another's territory.

If a customer used another company's towers while making a call, they got a roaming charge of about $2 to $4 a minute. In answer to this, some companies made deals with other companies to use their towers, this enabled them to offer an expanded area or reduced roaming fees. If minutes were the golden eggs, towers were the geese that laid them.

As a customer, you could always turn roaming off and therefore be unable to connect to a tower that would charge roaming fees. This would result in a dropped call as you moved off your home towers. Some companies' areas were so small, that just leaving the city limits might cause you to roam and incur unwanted fees if you didn't hang up in time; or it could cause a constant dropping of calls on the edges of the city. Remember, even one second got the full minute charge.

Towers and minutes; the two most valuable things in the early cellular days.

So, what does all this have to do with not using your phone on airplanes?

I had a conversation with the branch manager in his office one day. He informed me that the reason you weren't allowed to use your phone on airplanes was because, "the planes move through the air too fast." As a result, the phone's signal moved too swiftly to track as it bounced from tower to tower. They couldn't accurately charge the necessary roaming fees. Primarily, the use of your phone on an airplane allowed you to "steal" free minutes. In the end, this would mean a significant loss of revenue.

So they struck a deal with the FAA, the FCC, and the airlines.* Together, they agreed to ban the use of cellular phones under the guise of radio interference. It's true; it's a lie. One created to help the cellular companies' bottom lines.

The technology was new at that time, and the average consumer didn't know enough about it to challenge the narrative. I guess when deciding how to phrase the ban, they figured the "greedy corporate interests ban" wasn't going to be very popular. So, they went with the "electronic interference ban." Eventually, as more new technology was developed, the ban expanded to "all electronic devices." It seems some lies are too good to give up. Airlines also saw it as a way to monopolize on and monetize all communications in and out of the plane; anyone remember phones installed on airplanes?

Now that the standard cellular service includes unlimited plans, satellites, and shared towers, the initial rationale for the ban is irrelevant. Yet the ruse continues to this day. I don't know why. Maybe they don't want to admit that they lied. Perhaps it could expose them to potential lawsuits. It could be that the lie still generates some sort of revenue. Who can say?

Regardless of why it still persists, the next time you're in an airplane and you are asked to turn your device off, think of slow towers and fast planes.

*I do not know which entities were involved in making the decision. It was nationally implemented, and later internationally.

Well now you can have your phone in but you can’t get anything unless you pay for it ahead of time .

I remember my pilot friend saying they are still not sure if it interferes with plane or not and that is why the phones were had to be off all the time. Plus adding he always talked on the phone when they were getting close to a mountain because the signals could bounce and reach a tower. I guess he will like the actual real story. Thank you so much. I remember I had a 2110 from Nokia. The big bulky brick. Miss the times =).

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: Scratchpost

I realize you were just having some fun, but I will speak for myself when I say...finding any humor in the events of 9-11 is a tough one for me.

To me it's akin to slagging on someone's dead mom...at their funeral.

Buzz-kill, I know. Sorry.

Yes I know. Sorry.
It was some thing that realy gets the point over that
a lot of phones dont do any thing to the airplane.

when I think is very one track!

I would like to clarify that when I say branch manager... he could also be considered our territory/regional manager as well. There were only two offices. One office was in one state, the other was in another. Their niche was the rural areas. He managed the whole state's territory; billing, towers, sales, etc. out of one office. It was all still new then.

And now, a short drama I call: Silent Skies

"We have a problem. Your planes are allowing people to steal minutes. They are defrauding our companies."

If we tell them to turn off their phones because they get free minutes, they will use them even more on our planes.

"That's more stolen minutes! It's a crime! A federal crime! It must be stopped."

Ok, ok... We'll give them some gobbledygook about the phones interfering with the electronics on the plane. A little science, a little fear of death. They'll turn them off.

"Great, we knew you do the right thing. Here's some free minutes!"


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