Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

[khemara_qc]

Cell phone calls in flight?

http://www.ksbitv.com/home/1290631.html

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Federal regulators are set to begin discussions later this month on allowing the use of cell phones on commercial airline flights.

The Federal Communications Commission said that at its Dec. 15 meeting it will discuss possible revisions to rules prohibiting cell phone use on commercial flights. That's the first step of the process needed to lift the ban.

Cell phone use has been banned due to concerns about how it could affect an aircraft's navigation. And cell phones sometimes have trouble working when the plane is at cruising altitude because phone towers aren't built to project their signals that high.

The FCC rules have less to do with the effects on a plane's navigation than concerns that the use of cell phones on planes could wreak havoc with cell phone systems on the ground.

But airlines eager to attract business flyers have been looking for ways to keep customers connected to the ground while in flight, including Internet and cell phones.

In July, American Airlines (Research) and cell phone maker Qualcomm (Research) held a demonstration in which in-cabin calls were made using commercially available cell phones through a small cellular base on board that connected to worldwide terrestrial phone networks.

The passengers on the plane could both receive and make calls while on the flight.

Among those making calls on that two-hour flight were government officials, executives of the two companies and reporters.

American Airlines said at that time that regular commercial
application of the tested technology was at least two years away.

For more information, visit http://www.cnn.com.