In-flight cellphone suppliers take issue with CMU study

Representatives from in-flight cellular hardware and service providers Connexion and OnAir have come out with a public response to the Carnegie Melon study that found phones dangerous for commercial air travel- and unsurprisingly, they inform us that chatting in the air is not as dangerous as CMU claims. Dave Carson of Boeing's Connexion and Charlie Pryor of Airbus-aligned OnAir claim that the biggest problem with the CMU study is that it examined cellphone usage three years ago, prior to the implementation of certain safety features designed to protect on-board nav systems from RF interference. Furthermore, both companies are in agreement with CMU's suggestion to maintain the take-off and landing bans, although neither one addresses the issue of customers ignoring the rules by using non plane-based networks. Also rather flimsy is Boeing's response to critics who predict that already-noisy planes will become even more unbearable if the FAA and FCC ban on widespread in-flight calling is lifted later this year: buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones, suggests the ever-helpful Boeing.