I can't locate it, and wikipedia fully backs up the idea that electronics could interfere with Nav systems, however, I once read a compelling piece that lead me to believe different.
It had something to do with FCC regulations and how you could somehow bypass some system and get free calls, or calls could not be billed correctly, perhaps it was data, but it certainly was cellular related.
I can't seem to locate the information now.
At any rate, it does seem strange, as they cell towers themselves are not being asked to shut down, and they certainly broadcast much greater signals than the actual cell phone. This signal is rained over the entire aircraft 24/7.
The article that you mention (which I remember as well and also can't find) was basically saying how in theory a cellphone from a plane could hop from tower to tower much faster than they currently do if the user is in, say, a car, and that could cause some problems for the cell phone system.
I remember something along those lines as well, it has nothing to do with airline security and switching off electronic devices though. The issue here is that a 2G/3G device on a flying plane does reach a lot of cell towers simultaneously. The network is not designed for this, they pretty much assume that you're in reach of only a handful of towers at any given time - so the cell network could possibly be overloaded by thousands of people in the air trying to connect to many towers at once.
It had something to do with FCC regulations and how you could somehow bypass some system and get free calls, or calls could not be billed correctly, perhaps it was data, but it certainly was cellular related.
I can't seem to locate the information now.
At any rate, it does seem strange, as they cell towers themselves are not being asked to shut down, and they certainly broadcast much greater signals than the actual cell phone. This signal is rained over the entire aircraft 24/7.