Ofcom okays phones on planes

Calls will be allowed from altitudes of 3000 metres

Ofcom okays phones on planes. Phones, Mobile phone industry, Biz, Ofcom 0

26 March 2008 12:55 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Ofcom has given approval for the use of mobile phones on planes flying in European airspace, reports the BBC.

Following a review of the situation, launched late last year, the regulator has issued plans that will let airlines offer mobile phone services on UK-registered aircraft once a plane has reached an altitude of 3000 metres or more.

The coverage whilst in the air will be provided by mobile phone base stations, called pico cells, that will connect calls via satellite.

The choice to offer such services will be made by individual airlines, although regulatory procedures will have to be completed in each instance for the hardware to be approved and operating procedures put in place.

Ofcom said it would investigate any "excessive charges and abuses of competition" if airlines and mobile networks try and set call and connection prices too high.

Related
Full tags
Phones, Mobile phone industry, Biz, Ofcom
UK Shopping
mobiles.co.uk, three.co.uk, carphonewarehouse.co.uk, Nokia.co.uk, o2.co.uk, orange.co.uk, phones4u.co.uk, t-mobile.co.uk, vodafone.co.uk, ebay.co.uk
US Shopping
bestbuy.com, ebay.com

share Subscribe to RSS feeds email story save story print story pdf

Comments

(Will not be published)

  (Next time sign in to bypass captcha)

Latest in Phones

Latest on Pocket-lint

Top 10 Broadband

Compare 50+
broadband packages

Home Broadband »

Pocket-lint poll

Q. Do you use the same password for everything?

Vote YES Vote NO

» LAST TIME
When asked Do you check emails, twitter or surf the internet in the loo? 65% said yes and 35% said no

About Pocket-lint

Pocket-lint is your one stop shop for gadgets, technology and consumer electronics, bringing you the low-down on the latest televisions, cameras, phones, GPS and much more. Whether it's learning about what's hot in the world of Apple, finding out about the latest home cinema kit from Samsung and Sony or merely seeing what not to buy, we have you covered. So check out our reviews, news, comment, hands-on photo galleries and videos. Enjoy.

Top products

tip us on news

reviews hub

Rss feed

Follow us on Twitter