CTA-CEB18:2007 (R2012)

This Recommended Practice sets forth a series of PROVISIONS that collectively constitute a FEATURE SET outlining TERMINOLOGY and INDICATORS to determine TRANSMIT and OPERATIONAL STATUS of Transmitting Portable Electronic Devices (T-PEDs) and facilitate ease of operation in controlling transmitters in T-PEDs to aid in managing their use in sensitive electronic environments. For the purposes of this Recommended Practice, T-PEDs are considered to be handheld mobile communication or computing devices for sale to the general public that intentionally transmit a radiofrequency (RF) wireless signal. This Recommended Practice outlines inter-related PROVISIONS that together constitute a FEATURE SET, where the features are understood to be implemented collectively and in their entirety for all wireless technologies used in a product. Conformance assumes satisfaction of all PROVISIONS in the FEATURE SET collectively, and non-conformance assumes any one or more of the PROVISIONS have not been satisfied. This Recommended Practice addresses wireless technologies that are defined in technical and/or industry standards and widely available in consumer products (e.g., CMRS / cellular network systems, WiFi, Bluetooth). Developing wireless technical standards or wireless technologies not yet common in consumer products (e.g., UWB, 802.15.4, WMTS) are not addressed in this revision, but they are mentioned and might be addressed in subsequent revisions. Wireless technologies as described in this Recommended Practice are broadly classified into categories; it is not the intention here to provide a detailed description of the RF signal or technology subtype1. Infrared transmitters and receivers are not covered by this Recommended Practice. This Recommended Practice is intended for use by portable electronic device (PED) manufacturers, related component and software companies, the air transport industry, relevant government regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders that might require information on transmitting status of T-PEDs to facilitate policies. This Recommended Practice is intended to be used by individual stakeholders in the formation of their policies to manage the use of T-PEDS in commercial aircraft, healthcare, and other sensitive electronic environments. The PROVISIONS of this Recommended Practice are to be implemented by producers of T-PEDs in their products. This Recommended Practice does NOT address medical data (e.g., alarms, alerts, quality of service requirements) or make any recommendations regarding conditions under which T-PEDs that support wireless medical data streams are to be enabled or disabled. Such decisions regarding the transport of medical information are out of the scope of this document and are assumed to be in the purview of healthcare professionals. 1 Different wireless technology subtypes within a given category (e.g., CMRS / cellular network systems, WiFi, Bluetooth) may have distinct signal characteristics, capacity support, dynamic power level control, and dynamic frequency selection that may directly or indirectly influence their electromagnetic interaction with neighboring sensitive electronic equipment. It is not the purpose of this Recommended Practice to provide a detailed description of wireless technologies. In addition, the complexity of defining terminology and indicators to specify each possible technology subtype would defeat the purpose of a simple, clear, and consistent set of terminology and indicators for T-PED transmit status. For instance, it is understood that operation of WiFi may involve different subtypes including 802.11a that operates in the 5.1 - 5.8 GHz band and 802.11b/g that operates in the 2.4 - 2.5 GHz band. Many laptop computers and WiFi add-on cards are enabled to operate on both frequency bands using 802.11a/b/g. It is also understood that operation of CMRS from T-PED handsets in the USA may include different frequency bands (806-824 MHz, 824 - 849 MHz, 1850 - 1910 MHz) as well as different signal types (analog, GSM, CDMA, iDEN). Additional 'cellular' frequency bands exist in Europe (890 - 915 MHz, 1750 - 1780, 1900 - 1980 MHz) and other parts of the world. It is understood that a majority of currently available Bluetooth devices are class 3 and operate at milliwatts to of power, while class 1 devices operating at 1 watt may increasingly find their way into commercially available products. Any indication of these broad wireless technology categories will imply that any or all of these technology subtypes may be actively transmitted. Likewise, conformance of any wireless technology category to this Recommended Practice is to account for all associated technology subtypes to be actively transmitted.