FCC mulls 1,400 negative comments about calls on planes

With the roar of 1,400 people ringing in its ears, the Federal Communications Commission can now decide whether to allow cellular service on planes.

The deadline was May 16 for comments about lifting a 1991 ban on airborne cellular service. Opposition was nearly unanimous, with messages ranging from hand-scrawled diatribes to multipage rants.

"This is the worst idea ever," wrote John Simpson of San Francisco. "It is already bad enough with people talking on their phones everywhere but most of the time one can move away from the idiot; on a plane you are stuck." Frank Wake of Anchorage told the commission, "This is a very bad idea."

If the ban is lifted, Wake said, it will become "cruel and unusual torture for those of us trapped." The process now is for commission staffers to review all of the comments and determine whether to draft an order for the commission to vote on.