FCC Chairman Wheeler's Response to Members of Congress Regarding Mobile Wireless Services On-Board Aircrafts

In December 2013, a number of Members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler expressing concerns about opening the door to wireless voice services being used by passengers on airplanes above 10,000 feet.

They wrote, “We are in support of new options for airline passengers to safely use wireless data for non-voice services such as text messaging, email, and internet browsing; but we are adamantly opposed to the use of cellular voice services during flights.”

On April 8, Chairman Wheeler wrote back to the Members outlining the FCC’s process for process for considering modernization an outdated technological rule and enable in-flight connectivity options that are available elsewhere in the world to the available in the United States. He noted that if the Commission determines that airborne mobile use is possible without negative effects to cellular networks, the *airlines,* under the FCC's proposal, would have the ultimate say as to whether and how to provide service using cellular airborne access systems, subject to applicable Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration rules.