We seem to be moving closer and closer to being allowed to use mobile phones on planes. Currently banned whilst an aircraft is in motion, mobile phones are set to take off in the new domain of the skies. But it’s an issue subject to fierce debate.

There is popular pressure in the United Kingdom to keep calls from mobile phones UK off planes, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority doesn’t envisage permitting calls in the ‘foreseeable future.’ But European Union flight carriers are leading the way in developing in-flight mobile coverage through a mobile base station installed in the plane. If approved, this new measure could be valid for all European airspace and raise the question of validity in international airspace. The proposed project would require mobiles to be switched off for take-off and landing, and only allow them to be turned on after of 9,842 feet (3,000 metres).

At present, mobile phones are required to be switched off throughout the flight due to signal interference with onboard communication and navigation bearing displays. According to the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), mobile phone signals skew navigational readings by up to five degrees.

The proposed on-board base station would create a network just for the cabin of the plane; and running on low power would interact directly with passengers’ handsets. Phone traffic would be routed via a satellite to ground-level mobile networks. This, despite your mobile phone deals, would attract a higher cost than a normal call. Call costs and mobile phone offers would thus be determined by flight operators and mobile phone networks – however telecommunications regulator Ofcom maintains that unfair tariffs and abuses of competition would be under their scrutiny.