Federal Communications Commission

FCC Chairman Wants to Keep Ban on In-Flight Cellphone Calls

Ajit Pai, siding with concerned airline industry groups and labor unions, called the proposal to lift the ban "ill-conceived"

The new FCC chaiman spoke out Monday against a plan that would have allowed air travelers to make in-flight cellphone calls, NBC News reported.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he would stop his commission from lifting a ban on high-altitude calls, saying he would do it for customers who "value a moment of quiet at 30,000 feet." 

Pai, siding with concerned airline industry groups and labor unions, called the proposal "ill-conceived."

The FCC first prohibited in-flight calls in 1991 and then-Chairman Tom Wheeler, Pai's predecessor, proposed to lift the "outdated" ban in 2013. Wheeler had said there were "no technical reasons" to keep people from making calls in the air.

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