The price of security

DOES WIRELESS make America more secure and a little less free? The answer is probably yes to both. But whether that worries you or encourages you to feel safer depends on which part of the previous question you think is more important.

Here’s an interesting quote from Thomas J. Kinton Jr., acting executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which among other things is in charge of Boston’s Logan Airport security and is piloting a new wireless security system on Blackberry handhelds from Aether Systems: “As our troopers patrol terminals and garages randomly interviewing passengers, this technology allows them to check immediately if an individual is wanted by law enforcement.”

The key word is randomly.

Mike Mancuso, group president of the mobile government division at Aether, in Owings Mills, Md., has no ax to grind but simply comments: “There still needs to be probable cause, but frankly the priorities have changed post-[Sept. 11].”

Aether calls the system PocketBlue; blue for our men and women in blue, get it? It gives law enforcement a connection to the National Crime Information Center for outstanding warrants, previous felonies, or stolen vehicles, as well as to local and state-level databases — about 14 in all.

The system will roll out at Baltimore’s airport in a couple of months. Mancuso says the system is device-agnostic and will work as well with Pocket PCs and Palms.

That takes care of the airport; now what about future security on the plane? Well, it’s interesting, and it infringes less on privacy. Or does it?

I spoke with Mike Kuehn, director of airline technical services at Verizon Airphone. With a simple upgrade to the current Airphone cabling system — used by 60 percent of all major airlines — Verizon can increase bandwidth to 800Mbps.

With the increased bandwidth comes the capability to increase airline security. An upgraded Airphone system can support a broadband network including streaming video from the cabin or the cockpit to the ground. Kuehn says you wouldn’t want every plane sending video feeds to the ground on a continuous basis, but in case of an emergency, a crew member could activate an “event” button.

Now, at the risk of offending those sensitive souls out there, remember the shoe bomber? What if he tried to ignite his bomb while in the bathroom? Should the stalls be wired for video as well?

This system upgrade offers benefits to passengers. Eventually, Verizon will replace the phones’ RJ-11 connector with an RJ-45 for broadband, and Verizon is also working with Boeing’s CBB (Connexion by Boeing), which will use satellites and antennas on the planes for ever-faster communications with the ground.

Wireless technology, with its ability to access information immediately — anywhere, anytime — will certainly put our belief in the Land of the Free to the test.