The New York Times' Matthew L. Wald reports that FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin is planning to give up on the idea of allowing mobile phone use on airplanes "because it is not clear whether the network on the ground can handle the calls."

"A cell phone that is several miles in the air can contact many towers at once, tying up circuits in all of them," Wald writes.

Still, the airlines are moving forward with plans for in-flight Internet access. "We believe our customers value that and would love to have that on the airplane," says American Airlines spokesman Tim wagner.

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