FAA Commissions Safety Study of In-Air Cell Phones

"A study commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Transport Association is intended to resolve a long-standing question: Do wireless telecommunications devices on commercial flights interfere with navigational equipment?

An FCC study in 2000 found that cell-phone use aboard aircraft increases the number of blocked or dropped calls on the ground. That's because at high altitude, cellular signals are spread across several base stations, preventing other callers within range of those base stations from using the same frequencies.

If the study determines exactly what causes the trouble, the study's authors hope that cell-phone manufacturers could make phones that alleviate the problem". Reports the Washington Post.

emily | 3:36 PM | Cell Phones while driving/flying/sailing |
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