Media News - Monday, April 07, 2008

EU moves toward allowing in-flight cellphone calls

The European Commission plans to announce rules to let airlines offer midair mobile phone calls to passengers across the European Union, removing a major obstacle for companies that want to sell the service. With the new regulations, to be released Monday, the commission would unify cellular licensing requirements and technical standards to cover mobile phones as they cross multiple boundaries in the air. That is likely to prompt a scramble among leading airlines to give their passengers access to in-flight calls on their own phones. Already, national regulators in Britain have said they are ready to grant licenses, and Air France, Ryanair and BMI are either holding trials or have plans to make an in-flight phone service available. The move by Viviane Reding, the European commissioner responsible for telecommunications, would allocate space on the limited radio spectrum and ensure that licenses granted in one member state are recognized in all 27 EU countries. That means that, for example, an aircraft registered in France or Spain would be able to offer mobile communication services on aircraft to passengers when flying over Germany or Hungary without additional licensing. (International Herald Tribune)

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