Boeing, Airbus executives urge delay in U.S. 5G wireless deployment

[douglas9]

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N) Chief Executive Dave Calhoun and Airbus Americas (AIR.PA) CEO Jeffrey Knittel on Monday urged the Biden administration to delay planned deployment of new 5G wireless services, saying it could harm aviation safety.

The executives in a joint letter seen by Reuters asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to support postponing AT&T (T.N) and Verizon's (VZ.N) Jan. 5 deployment of C-Band spectrum 5G wireless.

"5G interference could adversely affect the ability of aircraft to safely operate," the letter said, adding it could have "an enormous negative impact on the aviation industry."

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-airbus-executives-urge-delay-5g-wireless-deployment-2021-12-21/

[WA-03 Democrat]

1. Remember when you could not turn on your 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G

LTE. Phones until the pilot felt like it. How many aviation incidents have cellular communication caused?

They know nothing about RF other than they cannot see it.

[Klaralven]

2. They should fix their radio altimeters

They are assigned the frequency band from 4.2 to 4.4 GHz. The FCC has restricted 5G to operating below 3.98 GHz to provide a 220 MHz guard band between 5G and radio altimeters.

They should fix their sloppy receivers so that they don't receive signals outside their assigned band.

[Major Nikon]

4. It's not that simple

Radar altimeters are both frequency and pulse modulated. As such it takes a receiver with a broader bandwidth from the transmitted signal to achieve the required sensitivity. There’s nothing sloppy about it.

The problem is the government sold off that potion of the frequency band without the due diligence of spectrum management.

But let’s assume for a moment how the so-called sloppy receivers could be modified in such a way so as to not be affected by 5G. The change you are proposing would cost tens if not a hundred thousand or more dollars per aircraft for hundreds of thousands of aircraft. You’re talking about billions of dollars which on some level would have to be passed on to consumers all for a governmental fuckup.

[Klaralven]

5. The government has $81 billion from the phone companies with which to solve the problem

The auction generated more than $81 billion in revenue for the 280 MHz of spectrum being sold from the 3.7-3.98 GHz band, making it the FCC’s most lucrative spectrum auction. The goal of the C-band auction is to boost 5G development.

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/fcc-grants-c-band-spectrum-licenses

If the radio altimeter designers couldn't work within their allocated frequencies, this should have been brought up with the FCC long ago.

[Major Nikon]

6. It was brought up with the FCC

A study by Texas A&M was commissioned after the FCC announced plans to sell off the bandwidth in question. The A&M study provided told the FCC it was going to interfere and the Trump administration sold the bandwidth anyway.

[Klaralven]

7. They should have brought it up before they built altimeters that needed more allocation

Radio Spectrum Allocation

https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-technology/policy-and-rules-division/general/radio-spectrum-allocation

The FAA doesn't allocate spectrum. That is the FCC and NTIA's responsibility.

[Major Nikon]

8. I'm well aware of who is responsible for frequency management

The problem is far more complex than you are suggesting. Frequency management isn’t just about allocating bands and assuming everything will work together so long as all transmission remains discrete. Just about ANY radio receiver can get interference from an adjacent frequency if the transmitted power is high enough and the transmission source is close enough. This is even more the case when pulse and frequency modulation schemes are used. Proper frequency management MUST take those things into consideration.

The Trump administration was told this was going to be a problem and they did it anyway. They deserve 100% of the credit for this massive fuckup, period. End of story.

[douglas9]

3. FAA: 5G networks could delay, ground, divert airplanes, and endanger lives

Technology being used in the next generation of wireless communication could disrupt the aviation industry; airlines have claimed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) claims the rapid 5G network expansion could delay, ground, or perhaps mandate diversion of airplanes. In a worst-case scenario, 5G networks could even endanger the lives of pilots and passengers.

A detailed bulletin the FAA issued in November this year, outlines the multiple concerns about the radio waves or frequencies that are commonly used for 5G services. The FAA has argued that 5G airwaves have a detrimental impact on aircraft instrumentation.

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), which is a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States, has refuted the claims of the FAA. The CTIA has claimed that FAA analyses are “flawed”. It added that nearly 40 other countries are already using the airwaves or frequencies for 5G expansion without any danger to airplanes. While dismissing the claims of the FAA, CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker said:



https://www.neowin.net/news/faa-5g-networks-could-delay-ground-divert-airplanes-and-endanger-lives/