Editorial: Can you hear me now?

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

There aren't many public places anymore where you can escape cell phones -- and the often loud, annoying conversations that go with them. Restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters -- you name it -- they're everywhere. The one place that has been relatively free of cell phone use has been on airlines, but that quiet zone might be coming to an end.

The Federal Communications Commission this week began the process of drafting regulations that eventually would permit widespread use of cell phones on airplanes. Some airlines currently have on-board cell phones, but they're limited in number because they're so expensive to use. So the FCC and the Federal Aviation Administration are considering how to allow fliers to use their own cell phones when aboard planes.

Imagine being surrounded by rows and rows of fellow travelers as they yak about their love lives, scold their children at home or argue with a spouse or co-worker. Unlike on the ground, where you can simply walk away from rude cell-phone users, there's no escape at 25,000 feet. We're just as enamored of the latest technology as the next person, but the vision of cell phones on airplanes is almost enough to turn us into Luddites.