Feds move on wireless Web, cell phones in flight | CNET News.com

c|net is talking about the feds and their plan for wireless internet and phone access on planes. the fcc is gonna auction some more public spectrum. at least it's for a good thing, this time.

and when i say good time, i'm talking about wireless broadband, NOT people yapping away for hours (it's bad enough just being crammed in there with that many often irritable people anyway) on their cell phones.

if they _do_ end up throwing in the bit about the cell phone access (and let's be honest, it'll prolly pass 'cause they want you to use those minutes anywhere you can..) then for the love of patience and sanity, let us hope that they implement some sort of reasonable procedure like a 'no cell phone sign', maybe a certain time when phone calls would be allowed, or, dare i dream--cones of silence.

i dunno, i guess it's not really fair to tell people where they can and can't use their cells (with obvious exceptions such as while driving (some are better than others), in theatres, in places where the phones could cause destructive interference, et cetera), but if people talking on their cellular phones on an airplane will be anything like the average cell phone user wandering around on the street, in the stores and in restaurants, then it could get out of hand real quick.

i can't speak for the international community as a whole, but there a lot of american morons who a.) let their cell phone run their life, and b.) rudely brandish it publicly, loudly and at the most inappropriate times.

we (as a culture) need to take a step back and analyze our priorities. waiting to make that call doesn't seem like that big a restriction, in the general interest. i mean, yes, it would be nice to let your ride know exactly when to get you, but that same message could be conveyed _silently_ through sms or email (or any number of other text based messaging protocols). and yes, i've also thought about all the crazy ringers and sounds that these devices make, which, on the one hand, i'm very interested and amused by, but which, in the course of an average sms conversation.

i s'pose i'm just being a crotchety old fart, but it just drives me nuts what some people do with those things. i'll stop ranting right there. but it will be way cool to be on a broadband pipe right there in your seat on the big jet plane...

--cid

0wn yourself