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April 05, 2008
Mobile Phones on a Plane
Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7330850.stm
Apparently, early last week, Ofcom okayed the use of mobile phones on airliners at any height above 3km
. This has confused me and leads me to the following points:
- What happened to the belief that electronic devices emit harmful pilot killer rays? I always doubted there would be any issues (given the high amount of shielding on the cables), but Health & Safety are usually much harder to convince...
- If mobile phones are capable of transmitting signals between 1.8 miles (3km) and 6.6 miles (cruising altitude of 747, apparently) why do I always have so few bars for the signal strength?
- Isn't the real reason for the ban on mobile phones supposed to be that it encourages people to use the airline's ridiculously expensive built-in phones? Surely, therefore, mobiles are still going to be prohibited...
- Also, why only above 3000m? Why is it dangerous (presumably) below 3km, but perfectly safe above?