If cell phone use on airplanes is eventually permitted, it should only be allowed when a plane is fitted with a “picocell” that carries all wireless communications between the plane and the ground on a single channel, thereby reducing interference with radio astronomy observations, an important tool for studying the universe. The potential for interference was noted by the National Research Council’s Committee on Radio Frequencies, which did not take a position on whether cell phone use should be allowed on planes.
Committee’s Comments to the Federal Communications Commission (89 KB file, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)
