According to new European Union rules, travelers will be allowed to use mobiles on planes within the territory of Europe from the beginning of Summer. Europe will be the first region to repeal the ban on the use of mobile services inflight.
The new rule will not heighten the risk of terrorism according to specialists, and will not affect the work of flight instruments. European GSM technology will provide the security system onboard and passengers will only be allowed to turn on their mobiles after the plane reaches a height of 10,000 feet.
Due to information from EU officals and different airlines, inflight calls will be provided by an onboard base station linking up to a satellite which will then connect to ground networks. In this way any security risk will be minimized. According to MSNBC, EU spokesman Martin Selmayr explains.
“It has to go through a central onboard cellular network that can be switched off by the captain at any moment, so that enhances the security of the passengers,” said EU spokesman Martin Selmayr.
He added that for safety and security concerns the phone services will not be available during takeoff, landing or during turbulence.
EU official have also announced new in-flight etiquette which will regulate the balance of calls made by passengers. It’s obvious that the onboard calls would have cost more than of those made on the ground. EU regulator Selmayr confirms this.
“I acknowledge that making a call at 10,000 feet will be more pricey than those made on the ground. We understand there is an additional cost because you need to route these services via the onboard cellular network and there is some investment that has to be made,”
Dubai-based Emirates Airlines have been providing this service since last month, but the number of calls made by passengers is limited. Besides, calls during night flights are not permitted. British Midland Airways Ltd is also planning to start using this service later in the year. Meanwhile, the United States and many other countries ban the use of all mobile technologies, telling that this could harm the plane’s instruments.
Photo:© whiteafrican
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