British airlines to pioneer mobile calls this summer

Weblog:
‘I’m on the plane’: the disturbing idea of airborne calls

One of the last refuges from the mobile phone will be breached before the end
of the year after the European Commission yesterday set out the rules for
in-flight mobile use.

The formal agreement covers legal and technological conditions for all 27 EU
nations to permit mobile use in their airspace within six months. But cries
of %26ldquo;I’m on the plane%26rdquo; could be heard within weeks on some airlines: Ryanair
is understood to be planning mobile use on all European flights while Air
France, bmi and the Portuguese carrier TAP are running six-month trials to
gauge passenger reaction.

Other airlines are not planning to allow calls. Lufthansa said yesterday that
it would allow only internet usage after research showed that a large
majority of passengers were opposed to the use of mobile phones.

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