Source: CNN.COM
"The airplane cabin as a quiet haven away from ear splitting ring tones and annoying conversations may be about to change.

Now technology companies and aviation players are banding together to mount an assault on the final phone-free zone.

The impetus for change is fueled by a belief that some people cannot get along without using their mobile phone -- especially business travelers on long-haul flights.

The use of mobile phones and some other electronic devices has been prohibited on flights because of fears they interfere with a plane's navigation and communication.

However, the new mobile phone technology is less intrusive.

"There is a (better) safety factor because we are transmitting at such low power to a cell site right in the airplane," says Irwin Jacobs, CEO of wireless technology company Qualcomm.

The in-flight technology uses laptop-sized "picocells" on the aircraft that pick up onboard mobile phone calls and send them directly to the relevant orbiting satellites.

The components for the new technology are small and lightweight. Only a satellite antenna is visible on the outside of the aircraft."

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