Cell phones work on planes!!!

Flew from LAX/Phx on southwest airlines.20 minutes into the flight I heard a cell phone ring in the row right behind me.The woman in a panic answers it, and mumbles something about being on a plane,and will call when she lands.Not a minute later ,I hear another one, farther back in the plane.I ask the woman behind me ,who looks flustered by the whole event,what type of cell do you have, a Razor she replies.Then I ask about her service provider,it was Cingular.On my return flight I am sitting in the rear of the plane.The flight attendants are hanging in the galley talking ,I decide to ask some questions.I ask them how often do they hear a cell ring ,or catch someone trying to use theirs.To my surprise they said daily.I told them there are a sect of people always claiming that was impossible,for cells to work in the air.To that they had a rather good laugh!Not the end all of proof ,but pretty unusual,if they CAN'T WORK.Any one else ever notice this on planes?


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[edit on 7/25/2006 by 12m8keall2c]

STUPID STUPID WOMAN!!! ugh..I wouldn't of asked her what phone she has, instead I would of slapped her and told her how damn stupid she is!

Phones do work..but with new phones coming out all the time with different freq, even though there is only a really really really really small chance of anything happening to the planes systems..they want to be safe then sorry..makes sense =)

Oh' I would have loved to ,she was a twit! However,with a wink,the attendants didn't seem like it was a hanging offense.They will make issue if the person continues to use after caught.They did also mention it is either an accident,or none english speaking.Also it sure didn't stop any planes from working on911.I think it is more that the FCC hates that at altitude they can tie up multiple towers at once.Causing issues with cell traffic.

ive had people call me from airplanes, i was kind of shocked that it worked. i have always been under the assumption that cells dont work from planes. i saw a study someone did where they said there is only like a 2% chance a phone would connect if a call was placed in the air. ill try to find it somewhere

I have been stating this from the beginning. I worked for one of the largest cellular companies pre 9/11 and it was well known back then that the phones worked on planes.

I always thought you couldn't use them at take off or landing?

Oh' how right you are Big Z!Funny how this is one of the CTers fave points.The study about 2% is a hack flying around Ontario Canada,I believe.Feel free to post,could use the laugh.They Work!!!!

some do and some don't, but to make sure, airplane system need to be tested (which costs millions going on billions) and you think how many new phones are created throughout a year. To save money from testing the system for each phone, its cheaper and safe to ban all phones.

It's to do with navigational information being interfered with. The actual control mechanisms of the plane aren't affected at all, so don't worry, the plane won't fall out of the sky. Some really new phones now have a flight mode, though the official policy is still that mobile phones remain off in flight (in Australia anyway). Mobile phones are recommended for carriage by aircraft in our flight training curricullum as a back-up in case other communication systems fall over.

This has been discussed a few times on ATS, and there will be a response in the negative saying mobile phones don't work. But I think there are enough people on here that have seen for themselves that mobiles do work in the air. Now, you have to keep in mind that the signal strength of your phone will impact the ability to actually use it, the phones work best at lower level (ie closer to the towers), but even at cruising altitude, with the right phone and a tower in the right place, a signal isn't out of the question.

I won't be trying mine any time soon MR.Mod.Still think it's more an issue with the FCC!The one I had back in 2000 is a lot more brick like than my clam shell of today.I have heard they were more powerful,don't know,but currious!Any one?

As Willard said, it's an airline/FAA policy more than anything. There was concern that the phones would interfere with systems on the plane if the frequency was similar. There's nothing keeping them from working, as long as you're flying over an area with cell towers to send a signal.

Originally posted by ZeddicusZulZorander
I have been stating this from the beginning. I worked for one of the largest cellular companies pre 9/11 and it was well known back then that the phones worked on planes.

I work for one of the largest mobile telecoms companies in the UK, and i agree that mobile phones do work on planes. My problem is when the mobile switches between one cell to another. Anyone here used their mobile on a Highway/Motorway? Ever had a call suddenly drop when you are travelling at speed? Say 50-70 mph? That sometimes happens when your mobile moves from one cellsites area to another and sometimes when the switch between them occurs your mobile sometimes isnt quick enough to to register on the new cell site and the call drops, and you are only travelling at 50-70 mph. Now i agree that a mobile can be used on an Airplane but i would suspect that the rate of dropped calls would be much higher travelling at 500 mph.
Im not saying its impossible to use a phone on a plane but i would expect a much higher percentage of dropped calls.

Originally posted by Duhh
Oh' how right you are Big Z!Funny how this is one of the CTers fave points.The study about 2% is a hack flying around Ontario Canada,I believe.Feel free to post,could use the laugh.They Work!!!!

yeah it was some guy in canada. im still looking for it. it never even occured to me that it would mess up cell traffic.

There was a time when you couldnt use cell phones in hospitals in case they interfered with the doctors pagers. Now most hospitals allow cell phones as the worry over pager interference was un-founded. How long till this happens on airlines?

Yea' Janus.That would explain the same number called several times,by the folks on flight 93.I seem to remember them calling back numbers more than once.The phones probably are less reliable in air.Certainly in the realm of possible,at the least.

Originally posted by Mcphisto
There was a time when you couldnt use cell phones in hospitals in case they interfered with the doctors pagers. Now most hospitals allow cell phones as the worry over pager interference was un-founded. How long till this happens on airlines?

They've been talking about allowing cell phones to be used for the last year or two. The regulation now is that you can use it after landing, and until take off for most airlines. You have to turn it off before you take off but you can call while you're on the taxiway. Most airlines and people are against them allowing the phones to be used on the planes so I don't think we'll see it anytime soon.

Thank you, Duhh. I have tried to explain that cell's do work on planes. My uncle has called my mother from one, and my fiance has called me from a plane on his cell phone too.

While I believe that there was a conspiracy surrounding 9/11, there are certain things people claim that are untrue, and hold onto them like gospel. One is the missile hitting the Pentagon, which I dont believe.

The other is that cell phones do not work, and the cellphone calls from passengers were all fake.

These are two theories that I feel are not factual, and muddle the waters of investigation.

I challenge other ATS members to do the same next time you are flying on a plane and you have a cell phone. If you, like me, do not own a cell phone, watch other passengers to see if they make calls on theirs.

I am certain you will find that cell phones DO work on planes, and can work just fine once the take off and landing are over with.

There is enough suspicious truths in 9/11 to bolster the case greatly without relying on fictions to prove your case.

WOW guys,thst was quick! MYTH BUSTED.Unless someone has any cool info on why they were not supposed to!DR JONES??KB?DA? HA HA HA!! THEY WORK[ Said like Dave C. Says... I'm Rich *&%$]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by Zaphod58
They've been talking about allowing cell phones to be used for the last year or two. The regulation now is that you can use it after landing, and until take off for most airlines. You have to turn it off before you take off but you can call while you're on the taxiway. Most airlines and people are against them allowing the phones to be used on the planes so I don't think we'll see it anytime soon.

I have read that one of the major US airlines has tested putting small cellsites for wifi in the tail of their planes. The article i have linked to says that voice calls should be possible with voice over Internet Protocol.

WiFi at 30,000 feet

Boeing WAS working on a wifi system for their planes, but I had heard that they shelved it. I'm not sure of the current status of other companies working on a similar system.

June 23, 2006 article.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the Journal reported on Thursday that Boeing has queried a number of commercial-satellite operators and other potential suitors who might be interested in buying the business or becoming a major partner.

If a suitable deal could not be reached, Boeing would be prepared to shut Connexion down, even though the service works as advertised and is used by a handful of international airlines on long-haul flights, one of the sources said.

Boeing has not said how much it has invested in Connexion, but people familiar with the situation say it is about $1 billion, according to the Journal.

Some industry officials say the business, because of lack of interest among U.S. airlines in outfitting their fleets with the system, may be worth no more than $150 million, the report said

news.zdnet.com...