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by Christopher
Elliott
September 19, 2001
The cellular phone, which played
a pivotal role in last week's terrorist attacks, is now at the center of
another controversy. Travelers who used to reluctantly respect the
airlines' ban on wireless devices now are vowing to defy the rules, and a
confrontation appears inevitable.
It's easy to see why some passengers aren't turning their wireless devices
off in flight. Reports that the hijacking victims used their phones to
call family members shortly before their planes crashed are forcing
everyone to rethink the limits on cellular calls from planes. On at least
one of the doomed flights, travelers reportedly received word of the World
Trade Center attacks via mobile phones and then acted to prevent another
catastrophe.
Air travelers like Will Hester believe a ban on cell phones is a bad idea
in light of the "heroic acts in the face of disaster," and that it ought
to be reconsidered. "The growth of technology as it relates to the
empowerment of interpersonal communication is, as history will prove, a
good thing," he says.
Others are sounding more defiant. "Many of us will show more tolerance to
the cell phone from now on, and perhaps for those who carry them, too,"
predicted The Motley Fool's David Gardner.
"The cell phone, so much a part of American life in recent years, is known
as both a nuisance and a necessity, occasionally a lifesaver, more often a
health hazard," The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee concluded a somewhat
melodramatic editorial. "The pocket-sized gadget took on a new sense of
importance Tuesday when the onslaught of terrorism shook America from
coast to coast."
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, a trade group for
the wireless industry, wasted little time taking advantage of the cell
phone's role in this tragedy. Although it didn't issue any official
statements, the organization broadcast a barrage of pro-cell phone stories
in its daily news summaries that seemed to suggest a cell phone belongs in
the hand of every patriotic American.
But last week's events raised more questions than they've answered. What
if wireless devices were allowed? Could one or more of the flights have
been saved? Or did the sudden surge in cellular calls disrupt the
aircraft's navigational equipment and cause the crashes, notably the one
in a remote part of Pennsylvania? We don't know the answers to these
questions yet. We may never.
Here is what is known: Neither the federal government nor the airlines are
currently considering a modification of their rules. Phoning from a plane
is still a no-no unless you're using one of the approved seatback
handsets. We know that flight attendants are trying to be more vigilant
than ever about security-there have been reports of some crewmembers
refusing to fly because of worries about safety-so cellular scofflaws
could face severe punishment if they're caught.
We also know that wireless communications networks weren't designed for
ground-to-air communication. Cellular experts privately admit that they're
surprised the calls were able to be placed from the hijacked planes, and
that they lasted as long as they did. They speculate that the only reason
that the calls went through in the first place is that the aircraft were
flying so close to the ground.
Travelers are trying to find a middle ground between satisfying the
Federal Aviation Administration's desire to keep mobile phones from
interfering with an aircraft's navigation systems and keeping in touch
with family, just in case there's an emergency. One solution: leave the
cell phone on but don't use it. Set the ringer to vibrate so the crew
won't be tipped off to an incoming call.
That may seem reasonable. But it isn't.
Digital phones send out what's known as a registration signal when they're
powered on. That signal, which tells the tower that your phone is
available to receive calls, occupies the same frequency as it would if you
were talking on it. The only difference is that the signal is slightly
stronger when you're talking. That's why your phone's battery wears down
faster when you're using it. Analog phones use a different frequency for
calls than registration. However, that doesn't make them any safer than
their digital counterparts, experts say.
All of which is a roundabout way of saying that, despite the salty
rhetoric and the defiance of some airline passengers of the rule of law,
you're still better off keeping your cell phone powered off during a
commercial flight.
You could be headed for a confrontation that you're unlikely to win.
Christopher Elliott is a travel
commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited,
condensed or republished at the site's discretion.
The Travel
Technologist appears weekly on this site.
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