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[byron mc]

voice support Summer 2008. Mobile OnAir system.
Air France launches in-flight mobile phone service. with details.
http://www.theunwired.net/?item=first-air-france-and-onair-launch-2-5g-in-flight-mobile-phone-service

okay. if you use your mobile phone you can be tracked.
the best thing is to get a phone not attached to your social security #.
the issue for us is anyone using a mobile phone in flight on a international flight most likely can be assured a list of phone#s using the cell receiving antenna on-board the plane can kept on a list with a passenger manifest. and surely there will be some boilerplate to Air France's 'Mobile OnAir system' [Mobile phones connect to a miniature cellular network installed inside this aircraft. ] this system is certified by EASA (European Aviation Safety Authority). you know they will give away data to TSA...
that says the calls go through their switchboard or something. and the TSA will of course have access to that data. list of incoming and outgoing numbers. Can you see how this is going? wiretap? no need to. if  a person 'under investigation' has a hit that he/she took a flight and used their phone you can bet that # will be available to Gmen to check a list of phone#s...

So different phones for every flight anyone? prepaid of course...

also of note:
Emirates ready to launch its in-flight GSM service
voice calls and text messaging.
calls will be billed to AeroMobile
Can anyone see AeroMobile & OnAir [the Airbus affiliate behind the technology] caving to the TSA with a federal order...? This would not be protected as it is a 3rd party company not a USA phone telecom company, right?
 and the phone# calling is a passenger on the plane.
It is not for investigating criminals, but what I'm concerned about is government datamining from phone#s used on airliners. outgoing calls to certain countries... of course 99% of calls are for legitimate business reasons.
Air France-KLM, Ryanair and Qantas are expected to offer services.

http://www.theunwired.net/?item=roaming-emirates-ready-to-launch-its-in-flight-gsm-service

and no current or foreseeable use of mobile phones on USA flights as of the FCC in October.
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/10/08/us-in-flight-calling-gets-shot-down-again/

oh and you can be tracked. should you not be smart enough to not have a phone assiciated with your soc. sec.#... 

[Claire]

But if you're on an airplane, you're already being tracked by the government. Maybe I'm missing something (it has happened once or twice before  ), but it seems to me it would be impossible to preserve cellphone privacy under those circumstances.

[byron mc]

sure by purchasing an international air travel ticket and leaving the United States or with the USA as a destination or stop-over [which you will have to go through customs anyway] the TSA/US Govt does not have your phone#.

By using a cellphone on a flight you surely are giving up the phone# to any federal government agency who wants the data [call incoming#, call outgoing#, SMS text ].  these few companies providing the miniature cellular mobile network on the plane are affiliates of the airplane makers. they are not really telecoms right? they are a middleman. you really give up privacy using a 3rd party before the telecom. as well as any wiretapping law protections... 

let's not turn this thread into a NSA warrantless wiretap/roving wiretap thread.

the thing that should turn heads is the gov't will be in the position to have a passenger manifest and a pile of data they can just datamine and let their computers search for all sorts of things. I think SMS messages would be in more of an unsecure position here than at a telecom. who knows what things these miniature cellular mobile network providers will keep datawise?
will they let the gov't. add a special black box on the plane's data mobile network to record voice calls?

hmm... encrypted email to be sent instead of a voicecall over the airplane's WIFI using a PGP key?

sure i've posed a lot of questions and food for thought. let's discuss.
this is a totally new emerging communications area. and with the way air travel is now i can see the gov't wanting to have more control than traditional telecoms...

[byron mc]

Even a year ago, the notion seemed improbable. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had banned it; questions remained about its safety; and polls showed Americans were overwhelmingly opposed to it, as much as 70 percent in some surveys.

The FCC is no longer opposed to cellphone use in planes; technology has resolved safety concerns; and a poll released last week by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that Americans are now split on whether it would be advisable to let the passenger in the next seat chat up his brother on the phone.


For now, at least, the decision lies with the individual airlines. Some may soon allow it, if only to test the public's reaction.
For some travelers who value their sky-high, cellphone-free sanctuary, that is a major concern.


Some in Congress feel so strongly about it that they've established the "Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act" or the HANG-UP Act, as it's known around the halls of House. That would set some rules: It would allow text messaging and Internet use on cellphones but ban voice communications.

Prospects improve that airlines will OK their use in flight

Cellphones in the sky?
August 13, 2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0814/p03s01-usgn.html


so much for SMS text messaging only... cattle car coach section yakking away on a 6 hour flight... in domestic USA?
Train travel is looking better as there is a quiet car.

“It has been popular enough that we’ve extended the Quiet Car to several Amtrak trains,”

The Amtrak Quiet Car: Where Silence Sells
February 4, 2008
http://intransitionmag.blogspot.com/2008/02/amtrak-quiet-car-where-silence-sells.html

Quiet Car
Many trains feature Quiet Car service, intended to provide a peaceful, quiet atmosphere for those who want to work or rest without distraction.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1080080554508&pagename=Amtrak%2Fam2Copy%2FSimple_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy