Well, depending on where you fly, anyway.
For nearly as long as we’ve held smart phones, we’ve had airplane mode.
But that might end up being a thing of the past, depending on where you are flying.
The European Union has ruled that European airlines can now offer 5G technology, which is currently the fastest broadband available. The deadline for airlines to make 5G available is June 30.
The exact details of what this change will mean are still being worked out, according to the BBC, but one of the upshots is that customers won’t have to put their phones in airplane mode for the entire flight.
This change could, in theory, allow customers to stream movies and music while in flight, and perhaps take phone calls, though taking a call next to your fellow customer is so disruptive that airlines might ban the practice, or at least heavily discourage it.
It’s also very likely that customers will be required to put their phones on airplane mode at least during the part where the flight attendants go through all the necessary safety procedures and what you will need to know in the event of an emergency. Even if you’ve heard this stuff a thousand times before, the attendants do appreciate you paying attention, and not making it difficult for the people around you to listen.
Why Airplane Mode Might Be A Thing Of The Past In Europe
While airplane mode might soon go the way of the flip phone in Europe, don’t expect this change to come to America anytime soon.
Without getting too deep into the weeds, the issue, as explained by CheapAir, “Europe works on a slightly different 5G frequency than the U.S. In the United States, the 5G band sits just a little higher than in Europe.”
The upshot is that in Europe, there is more of a gap between the 5g broadband and sensitive radio altimeter, a part of the navigation system which is very important during inclimate weather landings. This broadband gap means it is easier to protect sensitive equipment when it is being used in flight.
In the United States, the gap is much smaller, so there’s still potential for phones to interfere with safety equipment.
Getty Images
Why Airplane Mode Is Necessary
There’s plenty of people on social media or Reddit who claim that airplane mode is unimportant. Perhaps you’ve forgotten to put your phone on silent, and maybe even sent off a few emails during take-off, all without causing any major disruptions.
While some experts debate whether cell phones could really cause a problem during navigation, the industry tends to err on the side of caution.
“It’s never been proven that a mobile phone signal has interfered with the navigation performance of the aircraft. But just because it’s never happened doesn’t mean it will never happen,” a pilot tells Business Insider.
But the Federal Communications Commission bans cell phone use to protect phone networks on the group, as cell phone towers could pick up calls from a plane, which would crowd out the towers and disrupt service.
Meaning at 40,000 feet in the air, active cell phones would be picking up service from multiple cell towers on the ground. This could crowd the networks on the ground and disrupt service.
So even if many airlines do allow for in-flight internet service, usually at an extra cost, they still prohibit people from making calls using the in-flight wi-fi to make a phone or video call.
But in addition to making things easier for cell towers, airlines are well aware that no one wants to spend hours on a flight sitting next to someone on a plane and hearing half of a conversation. Technology may only move forward, but common courtesy should, hopefully, remain the law of the land, and sky.
