[campbellcj]

I heard the same thing as David, that the cell phone rule was mainly a phone company effort to reduce high-speed cell-hopping. No clue if this is true, but I find it VERY hard to believe that your normal, FCC approved consumer electronics would interfere with either commercial or military comm or avionics systems.

Think about it -- much of the earth is plastered with high-powered cell, RF, microwave, and every other imaginable kind of transmitters across a huge frequency spectrum. The plane is flying thru a sea of 'noise' on your whole trip. And a piddly little milliwatt handheld gizmo is gonna make a difference? I'm no EE but it sounds like a crock to me.