Europe - in-flight mobile telecommunications

Brussels to allow in-flight mobile calls

The European Commission said on Monday it's introducing a new set of rules to allow mobile phone calls on board aircraft throughout the European Union.

The commission said that this means the 90 percent of passengers that carry a mobile phone will remain contactable during the flights.

"Pan-European telecom services, such as in-flight mobile telephony, need a regulatory 'one-stop shop' to operate throughout Europe and this is why the Commission has acted today," said Viviane Reding, the EU's Telecoms Commissioner.

"One regulatory decision for all European airspace was required for this new service to come into being," said Reding. "Now we expect operators to be transparent and innovative in their price offerings."

Reding called on airlines and telecom operators to "create the right conditions" so that the use of phones on-board will not disturb other passengers.

The measures seek to harmonise the technical and licensing requirements for the use of mobile phones on board aircrafts. Passengers' phones will be linked to an onboard cellular network connected to the ground via satellite. The system will at the same time prevent phones from connecting directly to mobile networks on the ground below. This will ensure that transmission powers are kept low enough for mobile phones to be used without affecting the safety of aircraft equipment or the normal operation of terrestrial mobile networks.

British regulator Ofcom last month already said it would allow British airlines to offer in-flight phone services.