Why the cell phone ban?
The cell phone ban went into effect in 1991, mostly to eliminate the possibility that cell phone calls on airplanes would interfere with cell conversations on the ground, as well as with the airplane’s radio communications. The FCC cited effects of “frequency re-use,” which is a fundamental cell phone principle that’s helped mobile phones proliferate worldwide. The signal from a cell phone doesn’t go on forever; the energy to propel it dissipates after a number of miles, and it dissipates more quickly if it bounces off buildings, hills and other obstacles. This allows the same frequencies to be re-used by operators in different markets sometimes just a few miles apart. A cell phone signal falling to Earth from a phone aboard a plane encounters no significant obstacles to slow it down, so it’s strong enough to reach the ground and find a network on its particular frequency. But if the airwaves belong to a different operator, there’s likely to be “noise” and other forms of interference f
