Providers See Big Task Looming at DOT on In-Flight Cellphone Use
The Department of Transportation will likely need to determine whether additional interference protections are needed as it moves toward opening a proceeding on whether to allow cellphone calls on planes, some in-flight broadband providers said. The implementation of in-flight phone calls in other parts of the world also may have some influence, they said.
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The DOT ought to look at other industries, and “the reality of what’s happening on board aircraft with other airlines outside the U.S.,” said Ian Dawkins, CEO of OnAir. “Using cellular phones has been the normal activity for some of the major airlines outside the U.S.” Those aircraft fly to the U.S. and the services must be switched off, he said. “There has never been a problem with any aircraft flying to the U.S. the last five, seven years. Why would there be any problems within the U.S.?” The only concern before implementation in other countries was certification of the equipment, he said. DOT shouldn’t put a rule in to limit what the airlines want to do, Dawkins added.
There already are legal intercept requirements and Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act rules, said John Guidon, Global Eagle Entertainment chief technical officer. Global Eagle owns Row 44. The DOT has to be thoughtful and it has to ask whether there are additional intercept requirements that need to be established, he said.
DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx said the agency will determine if allowing in-flight calls is fair to consumers (CD Dec 13 p1). The department is considering an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to obtain comment for or against cellphone use for in-flight calls, a DOT spokesperson said.
Flight attendants “will be heard” but the entities with the biggest dog in the fight are the cell operators, said Guidon. “They really have to be certain of what the effect on their business could be.” Since providers have paid billions for their infrastructure, “they're more than justified in speaking up,” he said.
The process “could get complicated purely because of a very small percentage of people making a lot of noise based on perception,” said Dawkins. This can derail a decision, he said: “DOT should look at fact.” The comments the FCC has made are based on facts, and not perception, “and also recognizing the evolving world of communications globally,” he added.
Airlines for America (A4A) plans to work with the agency on the issue, a spokesman said. A4A also will work with Congress, FCC, DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration and its members “to ensure that we can safely provide the type of connectivity our customers want today and in the future, along with the quality and comfort they expect when they fly,” he said in a statement.
Some airlines that already use OnAir decided not to activate voice and most airlines offering voice services through OnAir switch it off at night when the aircraft goes quiet and passengers are sleeping, Dawkins said. “This can be controlled by the cabin crew or cockpit crew,” he said.
Row 44’s partners will decide if they want to embrace this capability if it’s allowed, Guidon said. “If airline customers came to us and said ‘we don’t want any voice,’ there’s no way that we would offer voice on those aircraft.” Some customers will want voice, but may want it restricted to one call at a time, he said. “Then we can put that into the software,” he said. “I don’t think anybody wants a situation where the entire flight is on the phone.”