Hasta La Gadget!

When FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler confirmed the agency’s proposal to lift the ban on in-flight voice calls, he also issued a statement that sounded like he favored the change. According to AP, that didn’t sit well with a bunch of folks , and the FCC’s phones rang off the hook with complaints — one representative even called him a “wireless lobbyist.” Well, it looks like that’s caused the chairman’s quick change of heart: while he previously called the agency’s rules “outdated and restrictive,” he now agrees with passengers who’d prefer that cellular services remain banned on planes. If you were one of those who got excited at the prospect of making calls in the air, though, don’t feel bad that Wheeler doesn’t have your back anymore. In a new statement on FCC’s website, he says that even if the agency lifts the ban, it’s still the carriers that’ll have to decide whether to adopt the policy and allow voice connectivity.

Filed under: Misc

Comments

Via: ABCNews

Source: FCC

Southwest Airlines is teaming up with DISH Network to offer free in-flight live and on-demand TV service smartphone and tablet owners.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo.

The FCC released a report yesterday detailing plans to free up 500 megahertz of spectrum, in an effort to supercharge our nation’s ground-to-air mobile broadband infrastructure. The proposed spectrum would fall within the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, which is currently utilized for satellite uplinks. The FCC references an earlier Qualcomm proposal, which suggests data speeds of 300 gigabits per second with refreshed equipment operating over the new spectrum. With that bandwidth, all of the 15,000 WiFi-equipped aircraft that are estimated to be operating by 2021 would be able to offer significantly improved performance for passengers, and at a much lower cost.

Based on verbiage in the report, the FCC’s proposed date of 2020 sounds ambitious — even with the agency completing “a great deal of ongoing work,” it could be a decade before we can take advantage of gigabit connections from 37,000 feet in the air. Gogo’s next-gen system and ViaSat’s promised satellite rollout should be hitting planes before 2013 is through, however, delivering notable improvements of their own.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Internet

Comments

Via: Phone Arena

Source: FCC

By early 2014, passengers may be able to use certain electronic devices in airplane mode during takeoff and landing, according to a New York Times report. The publication’s industry sources say that the Federal Aviation Administration may announce more lenient electronics policies later this year, allowing passengers to use “reading devices” during takeoff and landing — while it’s not clear which gadgets would qualify, cellphones would remain on the ban list. The FAA commissioned an industry group to study the issue of in-flight electronics use — the team, which includes representatives from Amazon, Boeing, the CEA, FCC, and others, will announce the results of its study by July 31st.

The issue has support from key lawmakers as well. Senator Claire McCaskill is calling the FAA out on its authorization of pilots to use iPads in the cockpit and flight attendants to use devices of their own, while restricting passengers from reading books on e-readers — “A flying copy of ‘War and Peace’ is more dangerous than a Kindle,” she told the Times. And we’d have to agree. Until the FAA announces a policy revision, we all have no choice but to reluctantly comply with the ban, but with devices like Google Glass on the horizon, updated restrictions could not come too soon.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

Comments

Source: The New York Times

As silly as it seems to use 20,000 pounds of potatoes to test wireless signals, there’s absolutely a good reason behind it and the FCC announced today new rules that will help get more potatoes into the seats of decommissioned planes.

Actually, today’s news will help speed up the process of deploying Internet services onto aircraft by defining ESAA, or Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft which are used to provide in-flight Internet services, as a licensed application that would allow for airlines to test and receive approval as long as their system doesn’t interfere with the aircraft’s systems.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski shared what exactly the organizations news rules would mean to the average passenger:

“These new rules will help airlines and broadband providers offer high-speed Internet to passengers, including by accelerating by up to 50 percent the processing of applications to provide broadband on planes.”

I don’t know about you, but the more Internet there is on my flight, the less anxious I feel about flying as I have become one of those people who need constant Internet access wherever they go. Let’s just hope today’s news doesn’t create a spike in potato demand as I won’t agree to trading in a constant flow of french fries for the chance of my flight having Internet any time soon.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Send Your Christmas Tree Into Space, Instagram Denies Reports Of 25 Percent Drop In Users After ToS Drama,