VOIP calls just as off-limits in-flight as cell phone service

No cell phones are to be used on planes, however what if you are using a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service, which is leveraging your flight's wi-fi? That should be OK, right? You might think so, but to all appearances the answer is no.

Certainly, it's even worse news when you are informed of that fact when you are the founder and CEO of a company that has created a smartphone app that allows users to make calls using VOIP. No, we're not talking about Skype, we're talking about Viber, and the incident ended with Talmon Marco being escorted off a Delta Air Lines jet previously this week.

Marco, 39, was en route from New Orleans to New York. He decided to use the airline's in-flight wi-fi along with his company's own app, in order to call an associate. As he did so, Marco was approached by a flight attendant and told he had to turn off his phone. During he ended the call suddenly, he at the time explained that his phone was to tell the truth switched to flight mode, and that the call was made using VOIP and wi-fi.

The flight attendant gave Marco the wrong information

The flight attendant gave Marco the wrong information, saying that it was a flight safety issue, which is clearly, incorrect as he was using wi-fi. All in all, the FAA does note that airlines block the use of in-flight calling using VOIP applications not because of an FAA safety requirement, nevertheless because the carriers are "simply responding to the overwhelming majority of their clients, who prefer silent communications to the public nature of Voice-over-Internet-Protocol calls."

In other words, folks on a flight don't want to be assailed by a fellow passenger speaking loudly on a cell phone. As many have noted - and complained about - earlier, many people speak louder on a cell phone than a wired phone because of the lack of sidetone.

Ban on cell phone voice transmissions

"Delta fully supports a ban on cell phone voice transmissions. We are not, nevertheless, opponents of in-flight data transmissions provided they do not interfere with flight deck navigational equipment."

Perhaps at once time, Marco will use instant message.  The Viber app works on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and even BlackBerry.

Tech guru living in the San Francisco Bay Area

Michael Santo is a tech guru living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been involved in innovation for over 20 years, including mobile, computer, and Internet. He once wrote the recomputation engine for a commercial spreadsheet and has been a freelance writer for several years, seeing his...