Flight attendants come out against lifting inflight cellphone ban

As much as our cellphone has become an extension of our body, we've been dreading the prospect of the
FCC lifting the ban on inflight cellphone use (yeah,
maybe it'd be nice to check your voicemail from 30,000 feet, but you'll change your mind the first time you get stuck next to some foolio who insists on chattering away on their phone for 90 minutes). The FCC's already gotten flamed by travelers who apparently aren't happy about this either, and we may have gained a very significant ally in the form of the Association of Flight Attendants, which is rallying its members against allowing cellphones during flights (they're worried about people talking on their phones instead of paying attention to safety instructions). The problem is that there doesn't seem to be much of a technical reason to continue prohibiting inflight cellphone use—no one has ever been able conclusively prove that cellphones interfere with airplane navigation systems—though to make everything work airlines would most likely have to install mini cell base stations (which connect to the wider cellular network via a satellite connection) inside the cabins of their planes. It's not clear that many airlines would even want to bother with the expense of installing all this extra equipment, especially for something that most of their customers clearly don't want (though the prospect of charging roaming fees must be attractive), so even if the ban were lifted today it doesn't automatically mean you'll be annoyed tomorrow.

[Via textually.org]