Verizon, AT&T Agree to Delay Some 5G Rollouts Near Airports (apnews.com) 21
The Associated Press reports:
Federal regulators say Verizon and AT&T will delay part of their 5G rollout near airports to give airlines more time to ensure that equipment on their planes is safe from interference from the wireless signals, but the airline industry is not happy about the deal. An airline industry trade group said federal regulators are taking a "rushed approach" to changing equipment on planes under pressure from the telecommunications companies.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that the wireless companies agreed to delay some of their use of the C-Band section of the radio spectrum until July 2023. "We believe we have identified a path that will continue to enable aviation and 5G C-band wireless to safely co-exist," said the FAA's acting administrator, Billy Nolen. However, aviation groups say the C-Band service could interfere with radio altimeters — devices used to measure a plane's height above the ground....
Nolen said planes most susceptible to interference — smaller, so-called regional airline planes — must be retrofitted with filters or new altimeters by the end of this year. Components to retrofit larger planes used by major airlines should be available by July 2023, when the wireless companies expect to run 5G networks in urban areas "with minimal restrictions," he said. Airlines for America, a trade group for the largest U.S. carriers, said the FAA hasn't approved necessary upgrades and manufacturers have not yet produced the parts. "It is not at all clear that carriers can meet what appears to be an arbitrary deadline," trade group CEO Nicholas Calio said in a letter to Nolen....
Verizon said the agreement will let the company lift voluntary limits on its 5G rollout around airports "in a staged approach over the coming months." AT&T said it agreed to take "a more tailored approach" to controlling the strength of signals near runways so airlines have more time to retrofit equipment.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that the wireless companies agreed to delay some of their use of the C-Band section of the radio spectrum until July 2023. "We believe we have identified a path that will continue to enable aviation and 5G C-band wireless to safely co-exist," said the FAA's acting administrator, Billy Nolen. However, aviation groups say the C-Band service could interfere with radio altimeters — devices used to measure a plane's height above the ground....
Nolen said planes most susceptible to interference — smaller, so-called regional airline planes — must be retrofitted with filters or new altimeters by the end of this year. Components to retrofit larger planes used by major airlines should be available by July 2023, when the wireless companies expect to run 5G networks in urban areas "with minimal restrictions," he said. Airlines for America, a trade group for the largest U.S. carriers, said the FAA hasn't approved necessary upgrades and manufacturers have not yet produced the parts. "It is not at all clear that carriers can meet what appears to be an arbitrary deadline," trade group CEO Nicholas Calio said in a letter to Nolen....
Verizon said the agreement will let the company lift voluntary limits on its 5G rollout around airports "in a staged approach over the coming months." AT&T said it agreed to take "a more tailored approach" to controlling the strength of signals near runways so airlines have more time to retrofit equipment.
I want the FAA to sue the FCC (Score:2, Funny)
Hmmm (Score:1)
I recall when the first gen of mobiles were not to be used in petrol(gas) stations, everyone presumed they may cause explosions.
Truth was more prosaic:
Station operators thought they may interfere with the metering. Heaven forfend a driver may get more fuel than what was charged.
Re: (Score:2)
Electronic metering wasn't really a thing back then. Mechanical dials were the norm.
The reason for the ban was that 1st gen cell phones had some rather large batteries. With the potential to arc if they were dropped. Gas stations in the vicinity of fuel pumps are classified by the NFPA as Zone 1 hazardous up to 18 inches above the ground. Due to the likelihood of vapors being present as a result of fueling operations.
Did it ever happen? I don't know. But the people who do hazard analysis don't wait for pe
Airports (Score:1)
Sorry your child died. But the life flight from the traffic accident to Harborview Hospital was re-routed because Johnny had to finish his WoW game without interruption and landing visibility at the helipad was poor.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not certain the GRA 55 is immune to 5G C band interference. Based on Garmin's own claims [flyingmag.com]. It's not so much a matter of 25 year old technology as it is of the USA's C-band 5G allocation being too close to even modern radio altimeter's allocated band.
Overblown? (Score:2)
Is this really a concern? For years we were told that 3G/4G devices could interfere with electronics on planes and yet the FAA released a report a couple of years ago that this was all a bunch of hooey.
If this is an issue, how come nobody figured this out before now?
Re: (Score:2)
If this is an issue, how come nobody figured this out before now?
Large government bureaucracies often don't talk to each-other. Simple as
Re: (Score:1)
They did.
Boeing and the US domestic airlines are used to having the FAA in their pocket so blew off the warnings when FCC told them. They forgot they didn't have the FCC in their pockets too....
How about some experimentation? (Score:2)
Go to an isolated airport (or build one) and flood the area with 5g transmitters.
Run some tests on the tarmac and then at 100 feet. Do visual first. If the test pilots things are going sideways, go to manual and deal with it.
Both industries should have done this years ago.
Re: (Score:2)
Experimentation takes time.
The FCC wanted to sells the bands quickly - within basically 6 months.
The FAA objected when it found out, and the aviation industry a few months later when they found out what the FAA was objecting about.
But Ajit Pai decided to go full speed ahead and sell the bands in early 2020 anyways, with plans on "go live" around October or November 2020.
There simply was no time to try this and when AT&T and Verizon were about to turn it on, the FAA could do the only thing it can do - is
The cellular industry (Score:1)
Background: altimeters screw up due to poor design (Score:3)
Apparently when they designed the altimeters they didn't filter out frequencies that they didn't care about, so they're subject to interference.
The FCC didn't regulate it because it's not a transmitter. The FAA didn't make that a requirement because they aren't EEs. And the altimeter manufacturers didn't implement that because it wasn't in their requirements.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-p... [arstechnica.com]
Re: (Score:1)
The FCC didn't regulate it because it's not a transmitter.
Of course it's a transmitter! It sends out an RF signal toward the ground and listens for the return. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Can Also Be A Nice Excuse (Score:1)
If the economy does start to go sour, turn into a recession (as if it's not there already), then these corporate juggernauts have a reasonable excuse to cut back on capital spending by turning up fewer 5G cell sites than planned.
So a 5 or 10 percent savings by not spending the money could present a small boost to corporate earnings since these 2 companies tend to spend billions on capital improvements every year...or a savings in capital funding they would otherwise finance through stock sales, bonds, or ba
How does this happen? (Score:2)
They should stick with their business model (Score:2)