> Hummm? Are we not all violatating that FCC rule (BTW there's some argument that it's been misinterpreted) every time we fly with iFly in our cellular enabled iPad or Android every time iFly picks up new nextrad info via our cellular connection? And in fact during the entire flight if we have not turned off our cellular data and it automatically connects to the internet via a cell tower we're within range of? If so we're already on a large scale in violation. I sort of doubt the very low cellular bandwidth use that sending even one hundred emails with flight location (those would be tiny blips of data compared to even one kid somewhere watching 1 minute of youtube over cellular data.) <
This is all true, but the difference is that iFly doesn't base anything on you using cell data while in flight. While folks may do it, the iFly model is to use ADS-B data to provide weather and traffic. Similarly I would imagine that a lot of folks still have their phones on in flight, both purposely and accidentally. The FAA/FCC doesn't go after them, but I'd bet they'd go after a company that had a corporate plan/feature that relied on airline customers using cell phone data in flight.
> (those would be tiny blips of data compared to even one kid somewhere watching 1 minute of youtube over cellular data.) <
As I understand it, the concern isn't the amount of data used, it's the fact that when airborne, our phones access far more cell towers simultaneously than they do while on the ground. When that many cell towers see the same phone, it somehow confuses, or overloads the system, or at least has the potential to do that.