I'd bet folding money that every RPT flight in this country in the last 10 years has had at least one, and probably closer to a dozen phones turned on for the whole duration of the flight despite cabin crew instructions. Out of all those flying hours, how many issues have been reported that could potentially be attributed to mobile phones in the cabin?
In my own experience (in piston singles/light twins), 2G GSM phones will occasionally upset the VHF NAV receiver, as well as causing the annoying headset buzz through the intercom and on transmitted VHF COM audio, particularly in aircraft with ancient Narco or Collins avionics that has much less noise immunity than modern equipment. And that's with the phone being not 2 feet away from a receiver; surely not an issue in a heavy.
With 3G/4G and CDMA phones however, I've seen no issues first hand.
Last edited by bankrunner; 1st Nov 2013 at 00:36.