The European Commission has agreed to allow air travelers to use their cell phones on flights over Europe, but the ability won't be widely available for a while yet. According to an American Foreign Press report, the new service will use an onboard network, so the calls will be a bit more expensive than with a typical wireless operator.

As with other electronics, cell phones can't be used until the plane reaches a cruising altitude of at least 3,000 feet.

Airlines in the 27 EU member states have six months to start allowing cell phone calls. To keep chattering flyers from annoying other passengers, the airlines will have some freedom about how and when to use the service.

Air France has started testing the system.

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