The issue as I understand it is that a cellphone turned on in a plane durring take off sucks up the capacity of several cell sites vs just one while your on the ground (due to the curvature of the earth). Cell sites that are by airports already have a high usage rate so if you have a plane full of people connecting to multiple sites at once it drains the capacity exponentially. Not supprisingly the operators have chimed in to say that they can not guarantee that their network via a cell phone won't interfere with aircraft communications if the cell phone is turned on even though they don't.

Additionally if your flying over the east coast with your phone turned on you may not have service available but the cell sites below you will be trying to connect because the power emitted by a cell site is far stronger than the gain on your phone antenae.

Hope this helps clear things up.

Edited by author 01-30-2005 03:33 PM
Interesting, isn't it, that Lufthansa has chosen this moment to announce 80 WiFi equipped aircraft!

We've had a lot of letters from readers, some of whom have chosen to send email rather than post here. Here's a letter - and the Editor's response - which seems to summarise many of the arguments.

Hi Folks! Reviving the ole thread ... the latest is that Airbus is equipping aircraft manufactured by them to allow GSM (T-Mobile, Voda, and the lot) access by passengers.

Security and "Intereference with Flight Safety" put to rest at last?!!

I've personally tried using GSM phones on several different aircrafts, including the Russian TU-154, Boeing 737, Boeing 777 - nothing out of the ordinary ever took place on these flights - in fact, on the TU-154 I had 1/2 range 3 minutes into the flight!

Here's a simple thing for airlines to do if there scare of phones etc is genuine - install a GSM jammer, so we can't use the phone. My phone doesnt have flight mode, but has an MP3 player, camera and video player that I'd like to use whenever I want.

I'm trying to get all the messages linked, but the new Content Management System requires some of the links to be updated. Sorry! In the meantime, the latest thread is at this new story and I'll work on finding broken links...

Your argument that mobile phones or 'cell phones' do not interfere with the normal operation of planes is seriously flawed.

I site Cross Air flight LX 498 which crashed just after taking off from Zurich Airporton Jan 10 2000. Its navigation system was disrupted by mobile phone use and it crashed killing 10 passengers and the entire crew.

Secondly, I site an incident on Christmas eve of 2000 when a plane approaching 1400ft suddenly turned right and climbed. The crew had to resort to manual control to correct the flight path. It is suspected that a call to a passenger's cell phone caused the incident. All other possibilities were ruled out.

And lastly, I site The incident in early January of 2001 when a Slovenian airliner made an emergency landng after a mobile phone left on in someone's luggage (let alone being used by a passenger) caused a false "fire-on-board" warning, which forced the plane to make an emergency landing.

I would also like to add that in 2001 Faiz Chopdat flying from Luxor to Manchestor repeatedly refused to turn off his mobile phone. He was subsequently sentenced to four months imprisonment charged with exposing many people to mortal danger.

I hope youcan see that there is evidence suggesting that mobile phones or 'cell phones' are linked with mechanical problems in planes and that the use of mobile phones or 'cell phones' on planes is at best inconvenient, and at worse a criminal offense or the cause of fatalities.

Please reconsider using your mobile phones or 'cell phones' on planes or do not fly!!! For you own safety and that of innocent people who abide by the safety rules in place.

I would also like to add that there are rumours about low-frequency mobile technology being introduced that is much safer to use on flights, but there is much testing still to be done and I am sceptical about such technology.

I struggle with the notion that it is so inconvenient to meerly wait until the end of a flight to make a call.

Thanks for your contributions.