--- title: Get Ready for Cellphone Calls on Airplanes description: Federal agencies consider new rules about inflight calls. authors: - name: Kara Brandeisky url: https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 76 covers: - Technology - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/karabrandeisky former_staff: true published: '2014-10-28T17:13:24.000Z' modified: '2024-05-07T08:57:48.000Z' section: Technology tags: - Airlines - airplanes - cellphones - cellphones on airplanes - cellphones on planes - Congress - Dan Lipinski - David McKinley - Department of Transportation - DOT - FCC - Federal Communications Commission - flight attendants - inflight calls - Planes word_count: 295 canonical: https://money.com/cellphones-airplanes-inflight-calls-dot-fcc/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![woman using cell phone on plane and annoying fellow passengers](https://img.money.com/2014/10/141028_em_planecellphone2.jpg) As if airplanes weren't unpleasant enough, you might soon get an earful from your seatmate. Two different federal agencies are now considering revising the rules about inflight calls, and bureaucrats will meet Wednesday to debate the issue. While the Federal Communications Commission [currently bans inflight calls](http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div8&node=47:2.0.1.1.2.8.27.12), last December the agency [proposed a new rule](https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-13-157A1.pdf) that would allow passengers to use cell phones above 10,000 feet. [Airlines could choose](http://www.fcc.gov/guides/wireless-devices-airplanes) whether to install the necessary technology and allow calls on flights. The FCC has not made a final decision. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation announced that it was [working on its own proposal](http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-seeks-comment-whether-ban-mobile-device-voice) — and the [rumor is](http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-moves-closer-to-formal-rules-barring-in-flight-cellphone-calls-1407096288) that DOT wants to institute a new ban on inflight calls. DOT has yet to release its proposed rule, but its advisory group, the Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection, is hosting Wednesday's discussion. Given that experts agree [there is now little technological reason](http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303653004579212210178774516) to limit cellphone use on airplanes, the big question is: Are the American people really mature enough to make discreet personal calls, in a cramped space, without disturbing their fellow passengers? Members of Congress say no — and there's bipartisan agreement on that point. "Arguments in an aircraft cabin already start over mundane issues, like seat selection, reclining seats, and overhead bin space," Rep. David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and more than 73 other elected representatives [wrote to the FCC](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-congress-no-cell-calls-on-planes-20140926-story.html). "The volume and pervasiveness of voice communications would only serve to exacerbate and escalate these disputes." (Read their full letter.) If you feel strongly, tune in to the [webcast](http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/ACACP) Wednesday morning, when representatives from the DOT, the FCC, the cellphone industry and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants will debate the issue. 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