Airlines planning mobile phones service face Irish airspace ban

AIRLINES planning to allow mobile phones on planes will not be able to do so in Irish airspace because continent wide broadcasting regulations have yet to be ironed out.

This week Emirates airline announced its intention to become the first company in the world to launch a mobile service in January 2007 with its partner Aeromobile.

However, its success will be subject to ongoing discussions taking place at the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) which represents 46 countries and has yet to licence the technology.