IEEE EMC Society President Francesca Maradei released the following letter in response to an Oct. 24 Boston Globe article on the use of mobile phones on airplanes, in which, Maradei says, the EMC Society’s position on the issue was misrepresented:Dear Editor:A recent article by Justin Bender in the Boston Globe* stated “Attention passengers: It’s perfectly safe to use your cellphones (on an airplane), citing “A STUDY BY THE IEEE ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY SOCIETY…”. These statements are not true.As you may properly assume, some EMC technologists, who may be members of our professional society, have done work in this area and have utilized some of our publications to share their work among their peers. Such work may have indicated that the safety to flight impact of normal cellphone use on airplanes under certain controlled circumstances likely has diminished over the past decade or more. But this work has not proven the risk to be such as to make Mr Bender’s assertions true. In addition, specifically:a) A study or even assertion by one or more of our members does not constitute an approved study or position by IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society (EMCS). The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), under which our Society operates, has very formal rules for review and approval, prior to release of such studies or positions papers.b) Most, if not all, airlines would require essentially a zero risk before allowing unlimited or unrestricted use of cellphones. There is simply no proof of zero risk at this point, especially if a hundred or more passengers were to simultaneously use their cellphones.c) Mr Bender states that “the same study also found that, on average one to four calls are illegally made during every flight…. “. It is a serious leap of faith to go from a few phone calls to allowing unrestricted cellphone use by all passengers.In summary, our Society is aware of no evidence either within our Society or worldwide which supports unrestricted use of cellphones on airplanes at this point. We are looking at how well the new system currently used in Europe is functioning, as well as changes in technology and spectrum usage, as to whether, and in what circumstances, cellphone use on airplanes might be permitted. But at present it is NOT perfectly safe to use your cellphones (on an airplane**).Please take steps to correctly inform the public of this issue and our position.The IEEE is the world’s largest professional organization, having more than 395,000 members in more than 160 countries. It is dedicated to advancing innovation and excellence in technology for the benefit of humanity (www.ieee.org). The IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Society is one of 38 Societies within the IEEE. It is also a “world’s largest.” Its main focus is to address the development and distribution of information, tools and techniques for eliminating or reducing electromagnetic interference (http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/).Sincerely,Francesca MaradeiPresident, IEEE EMC Society* Read the Boston Globe story here.
IEEE Objects to Newspaper Portrayal of EMC Society’s Position on Cell Phone Use in Air
