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CEOs of major US passenger and cargo airlines have warned of a “catastrophic” aviation crisis this week as AT&T and Verizon introduce new 5G services. According to them, the new 5G C-band service, due to be activated on Wednesday, could make a significant number of aircraft unusable, causing chaos for US flights and potentially blocking tens of thousands of Americans abroad.
Here is the background to the dispute:
What happened
The United States has auctioned off 5G bandwidth to mobile phone companies in early 2021 in the 3.7-3.98 GHz band. This is part of the spectrum known as the C band. The amount raised from the auction is about $ 80 billion.
Why this is a problem
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that the new 5G technology could interfere with instruments such as altimeters that measure how much the plane is moving above the ground. The altimeters operate in the 4.2-4.4 GHz band and the concern is that the frequencies sold are too close to that.
In addition to altitude, altimeter readings are also used to facilitate automated landings, as well as helping to detect dangerous currents, most often in the form of vertical columns of air descending to the ground at high speed and at an angle to 90 degrees to the airflow in which they appear.
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said last month that FAA directives on 5G would ban the use of radio altimeters at about 40 of the largest airports in the United States.
US airlines have warned that the directives could violate up to 4% of daily flights.
Kirby said that if the problem remains unresolved, it could mean that at major US airports in case of bad weather, clouds or even heavy smog, “you can practically only do visual approaches.”
Why frequency matters
The higher the frequency in the spectrum, the faster the service. So in order to realize the full capacity of 5G, operators want to work at higher frequencies.
Part of the C spectrum offered at auction has been used for satellite radio, but the transition to 5G means there will be much more traffic.
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What the telecoms say
Verizon and AT&T claim that the C range of 5G has been deployed in about 40 other countries without any problems with interference.
They agreed to maintain buffer zones of about 50 airports in the United States for six months, similar to those used in France, to reduce the risk of disruption.
Why there is no problem elsewhere
The European Union in 2019 set standards for 5G frequencies in the mid-range 3.4-3.8 GHz, ie. lower frequency than that for the service to be introduced in the United States. The bandwidth sold at auction in Europe is used in many of the bloc’s 27 member states without any problems.
The European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the regulator for 31 countries, said on December 17th that the problem is specific to US airspace. “No risk has been identified in Europe at this stage,” the statement said.
FAA officials noted that the spectrum used by France (3.6-3.8 GHz) is further from the spectrum (4.2-4.4 GHz) used for altimeters in the United States, and France’s 5G power level is much higher. lower than what is allowed in the United States.
Verizon has said it will not use spectrum that is closer to the higher part of the band for several years.
In South Korea, the frequency of 5G mobile communication is 3.42-3.7 GHz and no radio interference has been reported since the commercialization of 5G in April 2019. Currently, 5G mobile communication wireless stations operate near airports, but no problems have been reported.
“Wireless operators in nearly 40 countries across Europe and Asia are already using the C band for 5G, with no reported effects on radio altimeters operating in the same internationally defined 4.2-4.4 GHz band,” said CTIA, the US Wireless Commerce Group. Federal Communications Commission.
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