On Thursday, the FCC voted 3-2 to consider allowing cell phone use and calls on aircraft for commercial flights.

The U.S. Senate and U.S. House quickly reacted by introducing bills to ban such calls.

Why not just let people talk?

The discussion over allowing cell phone calls on planes has become surprisingly intense. Who knew that people liked quiet planes so much?

The FCC voted to consider allowing calls since there is no technical reason to ban them.

CNN.com reports:

"I'm the last person in the world who wants to listen to someone talking to me while I fly across the country," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler -- who proposed the change -- told a congressional panel Thursday. "But we are the technical agency, and we will make the rules for the way the new technology works."

Many want the ban to continue. They don't want to sit next to someone who could be talking on their phone for hours. They don't want to be annoyed.

Who does?

There's no doubt long phone calls on planes could become annoying, but to have talking on phones be illegal just because it's an inconvenience to some doesn't seem right.

It's rude to be rude, but it shouldn't be illegal to be rude.

Or is it just freedom of quiet speech?

Why not make calls legal, then leave it up to airlines to decide if they want to allow calls.

That's what's set to happen, if it gets that far.

PCWorld.com reports:

Actually allowing voice calls in flight would be up to the airlines, and most U.S. airlines seem unlikely to do so, let alone invest in equipment to carry cellular voice or data. Most have Wi-Fi for data already. But foreign airlines that already offer cell service elsewhere could probably start allowing calls over U.S. airspace fairly soon if an FCC rule change takes place.

It seems odd to make talking illegal.

I find people who sleep on flights annoying. They crowd you, block aisles, and sometimes they snore.

Let's make sleeping on planes illegal! No, let's not.

Even those who hate the idea of cell phone use on planes must admit there would be times when being able to make a call on a plane would be a major convenience.

Just try to keep it short if you get the chance. Then, maybe we can all be happy.

Follow Matt Milhouse on Facebook and Twitter.  Listen to 100.5 The River weekdays, 10 a.m.– 3 p.m.

 

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