FAA relaxes its electronics rules for take offs and landings

according to this article, the federal aviation administration yesterday that it's relaxing new rules on electronics on board. these rule changes are valid only for domestic and international flights on american-based carriers. for the international flights, it's only for the landings and take-offs that occur on american soil. with these changes, one can use small handheld electronics from gate to gate. cellular data and calls remain prohibited, and larger electronics continue to need to be stowed.

i've always wondered exactly how much interference was caused by my small electronic devices. i routinely forget to power down my ipad whenever i travel. it's been a while since i've powered down my cell phone (while in airplane mode) in preparation for landing. sometimes, my mifi device will just turn on with any kind of pressure on the front of the device. and these are just the devices that i know about. i can only imagine what's actually happening in everyone else's carry on luggage sacks.

there are a few things that i've learned in the article though:

The guidelines reflect the evolution in types and prevalence of devices used by passengers over the past decade. In 2003, 70 percent of passengers carried electronic devices with them on planes, and the most common device was a cellphone that wasn't capable of connecting to the Internet, followed by a calculator, according to a survey by the Consumer Electronics Association. A follow-up survey by the association this year found that 99 percent of passengers carry some device with them, with smartphones the most common followed by notebook or laptop computers.

in 2003, the second most common device was a calculator. a calculator! i remember back in the day when i had to carry a separate calculator for school, and it was not a part of my phone. it makes me feel old.

In-flight cellphone calls will continue to be prohibited. Regulatory authority over phone calls belongs to the Federal Communications Commission, not the FAA. The commission prohibits the calls because of concern that phones on planes flying at hundreds of miles per hour could strain the ability of cellular networks to keep up as the devices keep trying to connect with cellphone towers, interfering with service to users on the ground.

this makes sense as to how they allow airplane wifi on the gogo system but not cellular data. according to the ever knowledgeable wikipedia, the gogo network is made out of 160 cell towers that are specifically designed to point to the sky and not to the ground. i suppose that this means that these specialized towers don't compete with the regular cell phone users and that's why this system is allowed.

so we will see. i'll probably get to be playing more candy crush on take off really soon ... at least in the states, that is.