Anyone who has suffered from loud mobile phone users on trains is going to be dismayed by this news.

The European Commission has given the green light to airlines flying in European airspace to permit the use of mobile phones on board.

Airlines will be able to install mobile phone base-stations known as “pico cells” on board the aircraft. These will be switched on once the aircraft has reached an altitude of 3000 metres (about 9800 feet).
The signals from the pico cell will be relayed to the terrestrial networks via a satellite link.

Once an aircraft leaves European airspace, the pico cells may be switched off.

The EU Telecomms Commissionaer has called on airlines and operators to ensure that those who want to use mobole phones in-flight do not disturb other passengers.

Airlines are not oblliged to provide this service on board, but once the trend has started with a few airlines, it’s very likely that others will follow suit.

The EC has no plans to cap the charges for making in-flight calls, but the communications regulators will monitor call charging, which is expected to be considerably higher than for calls made on the ground.