Recently, Alec Baldwin was kicked off of an American Airlines flight for allegedly playing "Words with Friends," a Scrabble(R)-like game which momentarily transmits data on each player move (Imagine a Scrabble(R) game that takes two weeks).
As an engineer who has worked in avionics and is rather familiar with the reality of "air-to-ground" and "air-to-air" interference, I submit to you my ubernerd explanation/suggestion that there's some serious bullshit going on:
- A long time ago, the FCC was dealing with new cell-phones and towers .. using AMPS (analog).
- The FCC, in response to high-powered AMPS cellular phones (old days, analog, you would transmit on the order of Watts and not Milli-watts), issued a ruling that essentially banned cellular devices from being active on aircraft.
This was, in its time, a great idea. It's why the FCC exists. Some random person with a suitcase-phone pushing out three watts, trying to terminate(make) a phone call, might piss off some of the instrumentation onboard. But: It would only affect it in the realm of electromagnetic interference in general; All devices that transmit signals are subject to strict licensing as to not interfere with critical communications (fcc parts A/B) (in other words, they can't "talk" in the same airwave-space .. or, if they do, they must secede/suspend activity if a Licensed transmission is seeking airtime).
Well, this kind of leaked in the worst ways, and is nothing short, in 2011, of a Snopes "are you serious? dude. it's been fine for /years/, and AMPS doesn't exist anymore. Anywhere." article:
- AMPS (the high-powered broader-spectrum "O.G." cellular phone carrier grab of the wireless spectrum) was phased out over the course of many years, and has been gone for quite some time.
- FURTHER: There are no information, control, avionics, distress, alert, SOS or other systems that work in the frequencies that the FCC was concerned about.
- The International Aviation Assoc. picked 121 and 253 MHz for mil / intl trouble frequencies. New ELT (locator beacon) devices work in the 400's.
- Avionics in general operate from 29-50, 118-175, 406-512 and >900 MHz freqencies. (Basicall,y, 30-175, 400-500, >900).
- Even if all of what I just said is complete and total bullshit (which it's not), it's the job, purpose and function of the FCC to be the arbiter and licensee of radio-frequency spectrum and wattage limitations. to push a rule that prohibits cellphones on an aircraft because of an oversight on their part in the allocation of spectrum is, in my opinion, a statement of "We screwed up, big-time, and our spinsters are going to figure out how to blame YOU if something happens."
- One more thing: Is it really the A-listers playing brain games with others that you fear are going to take down a plane, or would it be the person who carefully studied command/control systems and brought a cellphone on the plain that specifically interrupts/harms avionics?
I Really Don't Think I'll Ever See A Story Where Angry Birds(tm) Tanked a Commercial Flight.
But if anyone got my vote to be able to do it, it'd be Alec Baldwin or Martin Sheen.
.. anyway :
- The iPhone works on 800 and 1575 MHz. Nowhere close.
- Alec was playing a game on his phone. Were they sure his phone was malicious? Did they walk around the cabin with spectral analysers? .. I'd bet the farm the answer was no.
- The FCC specifically licensed narrowband 800MHz frequencies (which was their initial concern in the first place, that couldn't be used because it might cause interference) for the specific purpose of air-to-ground telephone services.
What all this boils down to, is that Mr. Baldwin was shafted by an hourly
skywhore having a pissy day.
I only have two questions:
- Alec: Why weren't you on Delta? I mean.. Hell-o!.
- Can I be your WWF buddy? :)
