Photo Credit: Newsbie Pix (Flickr Username). License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. A plane taking off from the airport.[/caption]Soon it will be possible for passengers to text on airplanes in flight. The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Thursday, December 12 that it will allow the use of smartphones, tablets, and other personal electronics during nearly the entire duration of flight.
Gogo, which provides inflight internet service to airlines, unveiled Text & Talk on Friday. The service will allow travelers to receive and make phone calls, browse the internet, get on social networking sites, and send and receive text messages. "Passengers will eventually be able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on their devices during all phases of flight, with very limited exceptions," the agency wrote in a release.
Users can purchase and activate a software key and log into the service using the airplane's Wi-Fi while the phone remains in airplane mode. Calls and texts are sent using the Gogo Biz app."There is strong demand for this service and the ability to text in flight," Gogo Vice President Brad Jaehn said, according to NBC. "We think a lot of our users will want to have the option to text while in flight.”
“Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement. "I look forward to working closely with my colleagues, the FAA, and the airline industry on this review of new mobile opportunities for consumers."
The new service launch comes shortly after the FAA announced a lift on the ban of personal electronic devices during takeoff and landing. The FAA still prohibits texting and talking, but Gogo's service gets around this by using Wi-Fi and providing the service only above 10,000 feet.
According to CNET, the service proved fast and useful for text messaging when it was tested. Phone calls were "dodgy," with the connection heavily reliant on the strength of the plane's Wi-Fi.
Planes may one day have to offer quiet or phone-only sections. The Huffington Post says, “While a person sending and receiving text messages (with the phone on silent or vibrate) isn't very disruptive to nearby fliers, the prospect of being surrounded by people talking on their cell phones for hours on end is incredibly scary.”
For years, the FCC has banned talking on mobile phones aboard aircrafts in flight due to concerns that high-flying phones could disrupt cellular towers on the ground, but now with Gogo’s new Wi-Fi service, electronics on airplanes are becoming a new reality.
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