BAF IN THE NEWS:
NY1: Sandy Aid Bill Passes Senate, Heads To Obama's Desk
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/176073/sandy-aid-bill-passes-senate--heads-to-obama-s-desk
By a 62-36 vote, the $50.5 billion disaster aid bill for states affected by Hurricane Sandy was approved in the Senate on Monday.
NATIONL NEWS:
Washington Post (Associated Press Reprint): Transportation secretary LaHood to leave Obama administration, another Cabinent member gone
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the only Republican still in President Barack Obama’s first-term Cabinet, said Tuesday he plans to leave the Obama administration.
Washington Post (Associated Press Reprint): Congress passes $50.5B Superstorm Sandy aid bill
Three months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged coastal areas in much of the Northeast, Congress on Monday sent a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure for storm victims to President Obama for his signature.
Washington Post (Associated Press Reprint): Obama says he’ll sign $50.5B Superstorm Sandy aid bill as soon as it hits his desk
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said he’ll sign a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure for Superstorm Sandy victims as soon as it lands on his desk.
Washington Post (Associated Press Reprint): A closer look at the $50.5 billion package of recovery aid for Sandy other disasters
Details on how the $50.5 billion package of recovery and related aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy and other federally declared disasters is to be spent:
The Hill: Amtrak praises Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's call for service expansion
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R) extending Amtrak service in the southwest part of his state has at least one fan: Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman.
WNYC: Sandy Aid Clears Congress
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/jan/28/sandy-aid-past-last-hurtle/
The $50.5 billion dollar Sandy Relief package that passed the US House earlier this month, has passed the US Senate and will now head to President Obama's desk for his signature.
Atlantic Cities: Picturing 10 Urban Qualities Every City Should Have
In recent months, architect friends have explained how several post-Recesssion projects focus sustainability goals on the end-user experience, rather than simply pursue flagship "green" designations. It seems there is a commendable and renewed emphasis on the particular needs of building use, and, significantly, the specifics of a building user’s relationship to the surrounding urban area.
Atlantic Cities: Public Transportation ... for Your Car?
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/01/public-transportation-your-car/4452/
Anwar Farooq has some out-there ideas, the product of his background as an electrical engineer, before he ever became a high school math teacher in Los Angeles. He’s invented what he thinks is a better mechanical pencil sharpener, a kind of turbo bike, and a remote-controlled camcorder (this last design sounded more innovative when he first thought of it in the 1980s).
Ideas Lab: Karan Bhatia: Post-Davos Reflections
GE's vice president and senior counsel for global government affairs and policy shares his thoughts on this year's summit of the World Economic Forum, just wrapping up in Davos, Switzerland.
STATE NEWS:
Fast Lane: Georgia mayors working together to keep the Peach State moving
Last week, I wrote about the terrific partnership DOT has enjoyed with America's mayors. Readers might recall that throughout the past four years, DOT has also put a great deal of emphasis on regional partnerships where state, county, and municipal leaders come together for a common purpose.
Transportation Nation: NJ Transit Hoboken Terminal Reopens Post-Sandy, Sort Of
http://transportationnation.org/2013/01/28/nj-transit-hoboken-terminal-reopens-post-sandy-sort-of/
(Hoboken, NJ — Scott Gurian, New Jersey Public Radio) The main waiting room of New Jersey Transit’s Hoboken Terminal re-opened just in time for the evening commute on Monday, just shy of three months after it was closed due to damage from Sandy.
Transportation Nation: Bus Rapid Transit Looks Set for Growth in Oregon
http://transportationnation.org/2013/01/28/bus-rapid-transit-looks-set-for-growth-in-oregon/
Portland has been a national leader in building light rail, but the transit-friendly city is considering buses as the next round of expansion. Portland is seriously considering bus rapid transit for two high-capacity transit corridors it is planning to expand. Nearby, Eugene is adding to its existing BRT lines, rankling some in the community.
WBEZ 91.5: Chicago planners push boldest bus-rapid-transit option
http://www.wbez.org/news/chicago-planners-push-boldest-bus-rapid-transit-option-105187
(Courtesy of Chicago Transit Authority)The BRT design favored by top Chicago staffers would preserve parking on both sides of Ashland Avenue but eliminate a traffic lane on each side.To create a state-of-the-art bus line, Chicago transit leaders and urban planners have coalesced behind a plan that would limit left turns and remove a traffic lane on both sides of Ashland Avenue, a busy thoroughfare that connects both upscale and low-income neighborhoods to a cluster of hospitals at the city’s center.
Boston Globe: Programmed iPhones accompany 24 rail conductors
When a commuter rail train is delayed, riders with smartphones often know more about what is happening than their conductors, armed only with radios.
New York Times: Stop the Honking? New York Suggests It’s a Lost Cause
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/nyregion/new-york-removes-no-honking-signs.html?_r=0
Cabbies do it from the back of a taxi line at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, coaxing their colleagues to move up a spot. Commuters do it at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel, flabbergasted that others in a city of eight million might share their route.
New York Times: M.T.A. Cites $1 Billion Cost to Install Gates on Subway Platforms
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/nyregion/mta-says-subway-platform-gates-could-cost-1-billion.html
Amid a spate of deaths on New York’s subway tracks, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials cautioned on Monday that any plan to install platform safety doors throughout the system could be prohibitively expensive, but they introduced another possibility: a high-tech system that would detect a person on the tracks.
Washington Post: Virginia Democrats want more on transportation plan
RICHMOND — House Democrats, saying that Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s transportation plan doesn’t go far enough to address Virginia’s infrastructure needs, said Monday they would work with Republicans in an effort to come up with a bill that can ease some of the most congested highways in the country.
Wall Street Journal: Mayor: City Rushing Repairs to Sandy-Damaged Homes
By Laura Kusisto
January 28, 2013
The much-heralded deal between New York City and some of the biggest private landlords to help find affordable housing for victims of superstorm Sandy has hit a snag: Two months after the agreement, only one apartment lease has been signed.
In Albany on Monday, state Sen. Elizabeth Krueger asked New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the Journal’s report on the housing impasse. Many people, the story noted, are reluctant to move far away from their homes in the Rockaways or Staten Island to the affordable apartments located in northern Manhattan or the South Bronx.
In response, the mayor emphasized that allowing people to remain in their homes while working to make repairs as quickly as possible remained the city’s top priority. As Bloomberg told a joint session of the Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees:
People have always wanted to live on the beach. Now some of it was because that’s where their food came from, but it is also the place people live. I never thought most of those people would want to go to a hotel, or a lot of them just won’t accept government subsidies or assistance … Hotels are nice, but these are not the Ritz-Carlton. Food is a problem and the solution is to get people back into their own homes.
The mayor highlighted work done by the city’s Rapid Repairs program, which was designed to get contractors into homes quickly to help fix heat, power and hot water. As of Jan. 22, Rapid Repairs had completed work on 7,112 buildings and started work on another 1,893 buildings, a spokesman for the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery told the Wall Street Journal last week.
As temperatures have dropped, advocates have raised additional concerns about people who have chosen to tough it out. Many of those who stayed in damaged homes are elderly or disabled. Still, Bloomberg said Monday that keeping people in place and speeding repairs remains the best solution.
“There are a lot of people who still, through all the cold, have managed to stay in their homes. That’s where they want to be and you’re not going to get them out, and so the real solution is to get to them as fast as we can,” the mayor told lawmakers in Albany. “I think the answer to your question, although the article did fairly point it out, these are people who want to stay in their homes — that’s the real answer,” he said in reference to the Journal’s report.
Bloomberg said one unresolved issue is finding housing for the residents of some 400 to 500 homes that were washed away or had to be demolished because they presented public-safety risks. He said those people will need help finding permanent housing, while the state or another party could buy their land.
Wall Street Journal: Redrawn Maps Double Flood Zones
By JOSH DAWSEY
January 28, 2013
The number of local homes and businesses within flood zones appears likely to double, with 35,000 new structures in or near New York City added to advisory maps released Monday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The maps, while preliminary, widened the flood zones along the shores of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and parts of Westchester County, all areas hit hard by superstorm Sandy. A map for Manhattan is expected to be released next month but FEMA said zones in the borough are unlikely to shift significantly.
The advisory maps are likely to become the fundamental blueprint for the final version to the area's federal flood zones, classifying 70,000 structures as flood prone and potentially driving up insurance rates.
"We owe it to people to be honest and make them understand what their risks are while they're making rebuilding decisions," said Mike Byrne, the FEMA official leading post-Sandy recovery in New York.
The advisory map moves inland flood zones along sections of Staten Island's southern shore. In Brooklyn, wide swaths of the northern shoreline are now inside the flood zone, as are parts of southern coastal neighborhood such as Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach.
The proposal faces various phases of approval, including a City Council vote in six months, and could take up to two years to take effect.
The revision means tens of thousands of homeowners, landlords and businesses will have to rebuild with increased flood protections or face higher insurance premiums, while others will likely be forced to purchase flood insurance for the first time. Some structures are slated to be upgraded from A zones, where chances of flooding are about 1%, to V zones considered much more likely to flood as a result of storm surges.
Advisory flood maps for New Jersey released earlier this month will redraw lines in nearly 200 communities. At a news conference last week, Gov. Chris Christie said the state would implement them as final.
Flood maps for both states hadn't been updated in about 30 years, Mr. Byrne said, and the revision was expedited following the Oct. 29 superstorm.
FEMA officials said specific consequences based on the altered flood maps will vary for homeowners based on their current structure's topography and location, but flood-insurance rates could rise by thousands of dollars per year for at least some residents.
"What we hope to do is make the case that making the decision to elevate to these levels is a wise one," Mr. Byrne said. "We hope it will create a more resilient status for the dwelling so the owners won't be impacted by future storms, and that they'll see it's a smart financial move that will eventually save them on flood insurance."
A spokeswoman for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office said the city hoped to use federal funds for Sandy relief to assist city residents located in expanded flood zones. The mayor plans to sign an executive order this week exempting residents in areas affected by the new flood map from some city building codes, she added.
The city is currently re-evaluating lines for its mandatory evacuation zones, but decisions won't be made until more data from FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers is processed, said a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management. There is no firm timetable for that announcement.
Wall Street Journal: Memphis Mayor is Building an ‘Innovation Community’
January 29, 2013
GUEST MENTOR Meg Crosby, co-founder of PeopleCap Advisors LLC: Memphis is an authentic sprawling southern city with grit, character and loads of potential. Can startups be successful here? Absolutely! There are some key elements that make Memphis a great launchpad for startups: a tightly networked community, an entrepreneurial spirit and a concerted effort to build the infrastructure necessary to help startups succeed.
Memphis is a city of close to one million people, but anyone who lives here will tell you it is a small town. The notion of six degrees of separation is reduced to two degrees in Memphis. For startups, this translates to easily accessible intellectual capital and resources. When my partners and I hung up our shingle last year and started our organizational consulting practice, PeopleCap Advisors, LLC, we did not have to look beyond our local network to find clients — including those outside of Memphis. We found the local network to be quite far-reaching, and, best of all, willing to help.
Entrepreneurs have shaped Memphis’ history and culture. On a global scale FedEx FDX -0.40%, Autozone and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are world-class organizations that were founded either in Memphis or by Memphians and are headquartered here. Memphis is home to several industries that are leaders in innovation from biosciences and medical devices to information technology and logistics. Recently, Memphis has also found itself at the forefront of social innovation with well-funded initiatives in education, healthcare delivery, economic development, green living and the arts.
Perhaps most importantly, Memphis is actively working to build a strong innovation community that includes resources for funding, technical assistance and mentorship. Organizations like Memphis’ LaunchYourCity Inc. are helping entrepreneurs to take real actionable steps in starting up at zero cost to them. Wolf River Angels, a small angel-investment fund seeks to match investors with startups not just for capital needs, but for valuable mentoring relationships as well.
Memphis’ growing angel community includes other funds like Innova and MB Ventures. There are multiple organizations that offer guidance and resources like Memphis Bioworks (biosciences support), EmergeMemphis (IT Incubator) and UpStart Memphis (women startups). As a result, Memphis has attracted entrepreneurs from across the country to relocate here to start their businesses. Last year, at least six technology startups relocated to Memphis from places like the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Los Angeles.
Even the city government has gotten into the action with the creation of the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team. Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and staffed by bright minds from all over the country, the innovation team has put this top talent to work on solving some of the challenges of governing an urban city, including evaluating solutions for gun violence, economic development and the delivery of city services.
Memphis is a city where people roll up their sleeves to help. I have no doubt that with the focus and energy we are collectively putting into innovation, we will continue to attract and retain new businesses, and Memphis will continue to enjoy its reputation as an entrepreneurial city well into the next century.
Politico: Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett Featuring Scott Wong
1/29/13
WORKING BREAKFAST: EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer and T&I Chairman Bill Shuster sat down for a breakfast last week to share agendas and set a bipartisan tone for the 113th. The main course was a discussion on how to solve the puzzle of transportation funding. Boxer told MT that her breakfast confirmed “everything’s on the table, which is good.” She and Shuster “think there’s a way to do it where we can get rid of the gas tax, maybe keep it for big trucks … and transfer it to a different tax that is a user fee that will really reach people like me, who drive cars that are plug-in hybrid,” she said. So does that mean something distance-based? “That could be part of it. Or there could be another user fee. There’s lot of ideas.” Indeed!
SENATE PASSES SANDY AID: Obama will be getting the Sandy aid package on his desk any day now after Congress approved a spending package designed to help victims of Hurricane Sandy and rebuild damaged infrastructure. The bill barely got the 60 votes needed, passing on a 62-36 tally. This morning marks the three-month anniversary of the storm hitting the New Jersey coast, and after months of back and forth between the two chambers, the House adjourning the 112th Congress without acting, splitting the bill into two parts and a very angry Chris Christie, the legislation made it through Congress. The $50.5 billion package also includes the FEMA reforms and streamlining provisions that were part of a separate measure (H.R. 219; text: http://1.usa.gov/Wnvqio) that cleared the House several weeks ago. The president is expected to sign it but one wrinkle remains: The money is not exempted from the sequester’s automatic cuts, which could cost the Northeast $2.5 billion. David Rogers has the overview: http://politi.co/VN1Mla
BOEING HEARING STILL SIMMERING: Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller told MT that his panel “probably will” still hold some sort of hearing on the battery fires, grounding and subsequent FAA investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Rockefeller said he was briefed on the investigation in the past few days by FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman. He said he wants to give them a bit more time to look into how the high-profile incidents occurred before dragging officials before the Senate panel, but said a hearing would likely come before the FAA probe is concluded. “I want to see how they’re coming,” Rockefeller said. “We probably still will, but I want to wait a little bit. Just nothing set right now.” His ranking member on the committee said the idea to have a congressional hearing is still simmering. “It was sort of batted around a little bit in public. But I don’t think the chairman has made any final decisions,” Sen. John Thune said. Burgess has the rest: http://politico.pro/T2Puqi
Investigation update: Meanwhile, Japanese investigators say Dreamliner’s main battery wasn’t the problem, the BBC reports. http://bbc.in/TNMf81
OLD DOMINION TRANSPO BATTLE: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration has been quite active in selling the merits of his transportation plan that aims to raise $3.1 billion over five years by replacing the gas tax with a higher sales tax and several other fees for transport projects. The latest is a VDOT-commissioned study that finds ending the gas tax would mean Virginians would save 16.6 cents on each gallon of gas. Shifting from the stagnant gas tax to a sales tax would mean “more revenue for transportation in the future” — about 20 percent based on current figures, according to the study by Chmura Economics and Analytics. And here’s a finding sure to make Grover Norquist cringe: The study says the governor’s plan is “essentially revenue neutral” in its first year. Read the full 12-page study: http://1.usa.gov/VjjLhu
Dems not totally sold: Virginia House Minority Leader David Toscano said his party agrees that more money is needed — and wants parts of McDonnell’s plan included in a compromise — but thinks $1 billion a year would be better than $3.1 billion over five years. WaPo has more: http://wapo.st/XGEviO
VITTER 2.0: Sen. David Vitter has weathered a number of storms — both literally and figuratively — in his time in the Senate. A new Louisiana super PAC is leading to increased speculation that he’ll run for governor in 2015. But in the meantime, he’s still the top Republican on the Senate EPW Committee that controls the bulk of the surface transportation bill. He plans to use that post to push for changes to the Army Corps of Engineers — even if his constituents don’t know what exactly a “ranking member” is. “Most people don’t know what a ranking member is and don’t care, so it’s inside baseball,” Vitter told Scott recently. “But to the extent they focus on it, yes, I think they would see a benefit.” There’s much more from Scott and Patrick Reis: http://politi.co/YAk11L
ORGANIZED CONFUSION: Thune told MT that the Commerce Committee will be “meeting this week” to work on organizing but that there aren’t formal designations yet for his ranking members or the Democratic chairman for the panel and its strong transportation focus. “They haven’t given us what the subcommittees are yet. We’re doing that kind of informally,” he said on setting up a committee structure.
HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZONE: Today ACI-NA is putting out a “capital needs” report that will show that Texas, California and Florida need the most help at their airports. The study will also highlight eight airports that have more than $1.5 billion in capital improvements over the next four years. Stay tuned for more.
START A BANDWIDTH, DUDE: There’s a brawl going on in Washington over just who will make it possible to watch the Super Bowl at 30,000 feet, our old friend Jessica Meyers reports. The FCC agreed last month to streamline regulations for satellite-based systems, a next frontier in broadband development. But ground-based companies with plans for further advancements want a slice of the shrinking spectrum pie, too. For Pros: http://politico.pro/WbyqiB
DON’T PLAY ON THE TRACKS: MT readers probably are aware that the U.S. doesn’t have 200 mph trains yet, despite putting billions into nationwide rail improvements. CNN sent a reporter up to Vermont to break the news that, no, the Vermonter is not high speed, despite receiving millions from the feds. But in doing so, CNN drew the attention of Operation Lifesaver’s Joyce Rose, who emailed reporter Drew Griffin on Monday. “The shots of you standing between the rails and walking down the tracks might give your viewers the impression that it's okay for them to do the same. ... Nothing could be further from the truth — in fact, more people are killed each year trespassing on train tracks than in vehicle-train collisions at crossings,” Rose wrote to Griffin yesterday afternoon. “Your story noted that you'll be looking at the use of government funds for passenger train service in other states. We urge you to avoid trespassing on the tracks while pursuing this story.” The CNN segment: http://bit.ly/14pcUJ9
CABOOSE — Stan the Man: One of Adam’s favorite childhood baseball memories was being camped outside the Hall of Fame, jealous that his little sibling was inside meeting a bunch of baseball legends after winning a special lottery on induction day, when Stan “The Man” Musial and his handler left the building, passing out signed postcards to all the children who couldn’t get inside. Musial passed away recently, but a group of House lawmakers wants to make sure his name lives on — in bipartisan bridge form. Reps. Rodney Davis, John Shimkus, Ann Wagner and Dan Lipinski have introduced a bill (H.R. 420) to name the new Interstate Route 70 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting St. Louis and southwestern Illinois the “Stan Musial Memorial Bridge.” It’s been referred to the T&I Committee. http://bit.ly/123ZcwG
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- California hasn’t bought any land along the first segment of its high-speed rail route. L.A. Times: http://lat.ms/115bPHt
- U.S. Court of Appeals dismisses Clean Air Act case brought by ARTBA to exempt some nonroad engines from emissions standards. Pros get the ruling: http://politico.pro/Ycxrgv
Politico Pro: Senators still mulling Dreamliner hearings
By Burgess Everett
1/28/13
Top Senate aviation lawmakers are still mulling a congressional hearing to look into the grounding of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner fleet.
Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said in an interview that his committee “probably still will” hold a hearing devoted to the high-profile battery fires and subsequent grounding of the high-tech planes by the FAA. He called the event and the subsequent investigation an “enormous” issue.
Rockefeller said he was briefed in the past few days by FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman on the investigation. He said he wants to give them a bit more time to look into how the incidents occurred before dragging officials before the Senate panel.
“I want to see how they’re coming,” Rockefeller said. “We probably still will but I want to wait a little bit. Just nothing set right now.”
Rockefeller said he probably won’t wait until the FAA concludes its investigation, which he said could take years.
His ranking member on the committee said the idea to have a congressional hearing is still simmering.
“It was sort of batted around a little bit in public. But I don’t think the chairman has made any final decisions,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told POLITICO.
Senate Aviation Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) cautioned not to “prejudge anything” about Boeing or the airplanes.
“Let’s make sure that we get these planes back in the air flying safely,” she said in an interview with Seattle television station KING 5.
Politico Pro: Broadband fight to connect planes takes off
By Jessica Meyers
1/28/13 4:03 PM EST
Airplanes no longer save us from ourselves.
In-flight Internet access, once considered a passenger luxury, has turned into a customer requirement. And technology companies are brawling in Washington over who gets to lay claim.
As marketplace opportunities increase, a bandwidth battle once limited to the ground has shifted to the air.
“It’s kind of the sky’s the limit on a lot of the options you can provide,” said Travis Christ, chief marketing and sales officer for Row 44, a California-based firm that offers passengers access to live baseball games, CNBC and a host of other networks.
The Federal Communications Commission agreed last month to streamline regulations for satellite-based systems, a next frontier in broadband development. But ground-based companies with plans for further advancements want a slice of the shrinking spectrum pie.
Case in point: Qualcomm, the world’s largest maker of wireless chip devices.
“This could be a great example of spectrum that could be shared to enable a more efficient use,” said Dean Brenner, Qualcomm’s senior vice president for government affairs. The company has asked the FCC to approve a communications service Brenner says would take the current air-to-ground options “to the next level with the same degree of high-speed connectivity we are all used to on the ground.”
Qualcomm has petitioned the FCC to use the 14.0-14.5 GHz band of frequencies, which is currently allocated to fixed satellite services going from Earth to space. The company wants to launch a commercial, two-way mobile service that would use up to 250 ground stations to transmit and receive communications from aircraft.
The Satellite Industry Association, Boeing and Wi-Fi competitors like Row 44 and Panasonic have pushed against the proposal for more than year. They say it would interfere with current frequencies and threaten rivals’ in-flight offerings.
“If there’s any disruption to people’s existing business and investments, that’s a harmful outcome we just want to be really careful about,” Row 44’s Christ told POLITICO.
Qualcomm insists this secondary service would not cause a problem and met with the FCC in early January to press its case. But competing companies fear such a move would set a jarring precedent.
“If the proposal were to move forward it could potentially result in locking in this type of network architecture,” said Carlos Nalda, a telecommunications lawyer who represents Panasonic.
Airlines, eager for any additional income, love Qualcomm’s proposal. “More and more customers are carrying Wi-Fi-enabled devices, all of which require a high-speed air-ground network to maintain full in-flight connectivity,” United Airlines wrote in a comment to the FCC.
And Gogo, the leading Wi-Fi provider in the U.S., generally supports the proposal because it would open up more spectrum — something upon which it could capitalize. Gogo, in the midst of becoming a public company, declined to comment. But it told the FCC that the move “offers a rare opportunity for the commission to meet growing consumer demand for improved air-ground data service.”
The terrestrial systems, as the ground-based options are called, often prove cheaper. But they can’t go over the ocean, which limits their use for international flights.
Wi-Fi-enabled planes still aren’t commonplace, although the service has catapulted since Boeing’s failed introduction more than a decade ago.
Costs have dropped and demand has increased in recent years with iPhones’ ubiquitous addition to the pocket. In 2008, Gogo launched an air-to-ground service that meant travelers could catch up on emails or update their status for as little as $5. The company has installed the service on 1,800 commercial aircraft and recently announced an agreement with Canada to lease some of its airwaves.
Gogo equips nine airlines, with Delta and American Airlines being the largest partners. Panasonic has agreed to outfit more than 300 United and Continental Airlines planes by 2015. And Row 44 has quietly turned into the world’s largest satellite-based Wi-Fi provider with services on three continents and in 400 Southwest Airlines planes. The company plans to add Russia and the transatlantic in the first half of this year.
“It’s timely for airlines too,” Row 44’s Christ said. “They need options to advance.”
Don’t plan to stream the State of the Union just yet. Only about half of America’s major commercial aircraft offer the service. Companies still struggle with large video downloads that take up limited bandwidth. And broke airlines want certainty customers will pay up to $40 for such services.
A report last year by the Chaddick Institute found that tablets accounted for only 30 percent of all technology use on flights. Airline passengers who opt for Wi-Fi still hover around 10 percent.
To top it off, companies must navigate between two rule-making bodies for approval. While the FCC decides who can offer service, the Federal Aviation Administration determines what goes on the plane.
The close-seat relationship has sparked some elbows. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last month pushed FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to reevaluate its restrictions.
“[Mobile phones] empower people to stay informed and connected with friends and family, and they enable both large and small businesses to be more productive and efficient, helping drive economic growth and boost U.S. competitiveness,” he said in a letter urging the FAA to enable greater use of portable electronic devices.
The FAA has launched a study to review those policies. Cell phones, officials said, remain off the table.
Even if the phones stay silent, advocates see skyrocketing potential.
Gogo, which is expanding its satellite services, has hopes of a creating a game where passengers play each other on different flights. Row 44 anticipates an explosion of connected aircraft around the world. And Qualcomm expects work files to download as quickly as on an office computer.
Electronics market researcher IMS Research predicts more than 15,000 global aircraft will have Wi-Fi connections by 2021, with 3,000 offering Wi-Fi or cellular service by the end of 2012.
“Consumers have ravenously adopted Wi-Fi and cellular services on the ground, and that looks set to continue above 30,000 feet,” Heath Lockett, an aerospace analyst for IMS Research, said when the company released its findings. “The broadband generation demand[s] a service in the air which is similar to that which they receive on the ground, and that’s the real challenge.”
The other challenge: not leaving your phone on the seat.