The DOT on Thursday proposed a rule requiring airlines and
ticket agents (including travel agents) to inform passengers at the start of
the sales process if an airline allows in-flight phone calls.
The rule would exempt small ticket agents -- those with less
than $20.5 million in annual sales.
The move is necessary, the department said, because existing
Federal Communications Commission rules, while banning phone calls on certain
frequencies, don't cover WiFi and some other frequencies on which calls can now
be made.
"Today's proposal will ensure that air travelers are
not unwillingly exposed to voice calls, as many of them are troubled over the
idea of passengers talking on cell phones in flight," DOT secretary
Anthony Foxx said.
The DOT warned that as technology advances, the cost of
making a phone call from the sky may decrease even as quality improves, leading
to more calls being made.
The DOT also noted that the FCC has since 2013 been
reviewing a proposal to eliminate the existing partial ban on in-flight calls
while stipulating procedures that would minimize interference of terrestrial
communication networks.
Airlines reacted coldly to the idea of allowing phone calls
when the FCC put out that proposal three years ago.