After months of cajoling, prodding, and pushing, the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to finally remove the requirement that electronic devices be turned off and put away during the takeoff and landing phases of commercial flights.
The New York Times reported on Monday that an FAA advisory panel is expected to recommend pulling back these electronic restrictions in a meeting this week. That board is expected to pass along its recommendation to the full FAA later in the month, with implementation in the skies happening sometime in 2014.
The new rules will almost certainly not permit mobile phone calls, in-flight texting, or mobile data use that would require communication with ground-based towers.
For almost a year now, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has been the voice of angry members of the public who want to be able to continue listening to a podcast, reading an e-book, or gaming on a plane without interruption.
"The public is growing increasingly skeptical of prohibitions on the use of many electronic devices during the full duration of a flight, while at the same time using such devices in increasing numbers," McCaskill wrote in a letter to the FAA last year. "For example, a traveler can read a paper copy of a newspaper throughout a flight, but is prohibited from reading the same newspaper for major portions of the flight when reading it on an e-reader."
It’s likely that the new regulation will cover all airlines and all kinds of aircraft, as airlines will have to certify that their fleets can withstand a certain level of interference. Airline companies already have to do that when they install onboard Wi-Fi and digital entertainment systems.
Source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...have-to-power-off-during-takeoff-and-landing/
The New York Times reported on Monday that an FAA advisory panel is expected to recommend pulling back these electronic restrictions in a meeting this week. That board is expected to pass along its recommendation to the full FAA later in the month, with implementation in the skies happening sometime in 2014.
The new rules will almost certainly not permit mobile phone calls, in-flight texting, or mobile data use that would require communication with ground-based towers.
For almost a year now, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has been the voice of angry members of the public who want to be able to continue listening to a podcast, reading an e-book, or gaming on a plane without interruption.
"The public is growing increasingly skeptical of prohibitions on the use of many electronic devices during the full duration of a flight, while at the same time using such devices in increasing numbers," McCaskill wrote in a letter to the FAA last year. "For example, a traveler can read a paper copy of a newspaper throughout a flight, but is prohibited from reading the same newspaper for major portions of the flight when reading it on an e-reader."
It’s likely that the new regulation will cover all airlines and all kinds of aircraft, as airlines will have to certify that their fleets can withstand a certain level of interference. Airline companies already have to do that when they install onboard Wi-Fi and digital entertainment systems.
Source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...have-to-power-off-during-takeoff-and-landing/