Should In-Flight Calling Be Decided by the FCC or the Airlines?
Skift Take
Is the passenger in the middle seat on your flight going to be talking endlessly on his or her Samsung Galaxy given international roaming rates of $1 to $2 per minute? Doubtful. Foreign airlines' flights that allow voice calls average just five or six calls per flight, with an average duration of a couple of minutes per call. Are opponents making too much noise about the issue? Could be.
As the FCC considers a proposal this week to rewrite what it characterizes as its "outdated rules" on in-flight systems that would support voice calls, data and texting from mobile phones, the ironies are many.
Consider that:
U.S. passengers already use their mobile phones to make in-flight voice calls, access data and send texts; they just do so outside of U.S. airspace, and on a bevy of foreign airlines, ranging from British Airways and SAS to Emirates and Etihad.
The FAA already certifies onboard GSM systems from providers such as UK-based AeroMobile on certain U.S.-manufactured Boeing aircraft, albeit for foreign carriers.
AeroMobile has roaming agreements for customers of AT&T and T-Mobile, and competitor OnAir has a roaming pact with AT&T, all useful for U.S. travelers making in-flight voice calls or using data services outside U.S. airspace only.
In the unlikely event that the FCC doesn't decide to proceed with a notice of proposed rulemaking and maintains the status quo, then foreign airlines would continue to
