Jerry Brito on Cellphones in Airplanes

When it was announced last month that the Federal Aviation Administration was relaxing the rules on personal electronic devices during take-off and landing on commercial passenger flights, Americans rejoiced. No longer would we have to suffer the indignity of staring blankly at the tray table before us for the 15 minutes it takes a flight to reach cruising altitude, or worse, touch ink-stained dead tree bits to occupy ourselves. Yet, notes Jerry Brito, when the Federal Communications Commission soon thereafter similarly announced that it to was reconsidering its prohibitions on in-flight cell phone use, all hell broke loose. Let's give it a try before freaking out, he suggests.