iPhones are a must-have for Congress

House members in the next Congress could get Apple’s iPhone as their newest communication gadget.

The Chief Administrative Office (CAO), which oversees the communications systems for the House, has begun testing a small number of iPhones within its ranks to see if they are compatible with the working needs of lawmakers and staff.

{mosads}“The reason we’re trying them out is because we heard a lot of people wanted the option to have them,” said Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the CAO.

The iPhone has garnered tremendous attention since its release in July 2007. In addition to being heralded as one of the greatest modern inventions, it’s received its share of criticism for its touch-screen keyboard and slow connection speeds.

The CAO plans to decide whether to give members the option of using the phones, which are offered exclusively under AT&T contracts, by the beginning of the next Congress in January.

The cell phone of choice in the House is currently the BlackBerry, with nearly 8,200 in active use.

If the CAO decides to offer members the option of using the iPhone, BlackBerrys are likely to remain the primary tool of communication on the Hill. If lawmakers opt for the iPhone over the BlackBerry, they will be required to pay for it out of the Member’s Representational Allowance.

But switching to the iPhone will be a costly investment.

The House’s e-mail is set up in a way that all the messages are delivered via a BlackBerry Enterprise server. That server is not compatible with the iPhone, so the only way people could get their e-mail would be to plug the iPhone into their computer. Because the iPhones would require a new server, the CAO is testing it before making the investment, according to the CAO officials.

With the arrival of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server in 2001, e-mail through BlackBerrys became centralized and streamlined, which made for faster and more seamless delivery. The previous BlackBerry e-mail system relied on local workstations, making e-mail delivery slow and unreliable at times.

BlackBerry devices were first made available in Congress to the freshman class in 2000 and a campus-wide distribution was completed in October 2001.

The House had conducted a 1,000-user, one-month test prior to Sept. 11, 2001. In response to the terrorist attacks that day, the House Administration Committee, in conjunction with the CAO, purchased BlackBerry devices for each member of Congress as another method of communication.

The demand for BlackBerry devices quickly expanded beyond members to chiefs of staff, and before long, many more people were requesting them.