Suddenly, it's not at all how we thought.

Everybody knows perfectly well that in an airplane you should transfer your smartphone to a special "flight mode" so that cellular signals do not affect the operation of navigation and other aircraft systems.

However, this is not the main reason.

In fact, there has never been a proven precedent that because of a smartphone in an airplane, interference or something went wrong. Please disable electronic devices on board - only preventive precautions.

So why do we need this "flight regime" in reality?.

All actions with electronic devices on board are governed by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission.

In these rules there is an item that calls to disconnect the radio module in the cellular phone during the flight, in order to avoid radio interference and disruption of the operation of terrestrial cellular networks.

What does this mean:.

Being at altitude, a smartphone with a working cellular module can "confuse" terrestrial cellular towers, trying to register at once in several.

This may in turn lead to a decrease in the quality of communication of all subscribers within the range of several towers at the same time.

And I flew, and I was not told to turn off the smartphone!.

If passengers are allowed to use electronic devices during the entire flight - this means that the board has its own cellular repeater.

Smartphones just connect to it, and do not catch the signals of the towers from the ground.