AT&T and Verizon will change their 5G plans after airlines warn of flight chaos.

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: New York Times

Verizon and AT&T said on Tuesday that they would delay the debut of new 5G cellular service near some airports, an attempt to address concerns that their equipment would interfere with airplane equipment when the service started on Wednesday.AT&T said in a statement that it had “voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways” while it continued to work with aviation regulators. Verizon said it would also go ahead with its Wednesday launch but would add some additional measures to address concerns around airports.

Neither company said where they would apply the new measures and it was not immediately clear whether the changes went far enough to satisfy airlines and aviation safety regulators and avoid mass flight cancellations. The announcements came just after the executives of 10 airlines sent a letter to the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, saying that they feared chaos at airports and cargo hubs because of restrictions put in place by aviation regulators to avoid interference between the new wireless service and plane equipment used during takeoffs and landings.

“Every one of the passenger and cargo carriers will be struggling to get people, shipments, planes and crews where they need to be,” the executives said. “To be blunt, the nation’s commerce will grind to a halt.” On a day like this past Sunday, more than 1,100 flights would have been canceled because of Federal Aviation Administration restrictions put in place for the 5G rollout, affecting about 100,000 passengers, the group said. The new 5G service uses so-called C-band frequencies, which are close to the portion of airwaves used by radio altimeters, devices that determine the distance between planes and the ground. That measurement is particularly important to pilots when visibility is limited.

Several major companies and Airlines for America, the industry’s trade organization that organized the letter, did not immediately provide estimates for how many flights would be canceled on Wednesday if the 5G rollout happens as planned. In a separate statement on Monday, United Airlines estimated that the disruptions would affect 1.25 million United passengers and at least 15,000 flights annually. The airline group offered a solution in the letter: Allow 5G to be put in place nationwide starting on Wednesday, except for within two miles of affected airport runways. On Tuesday, the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group that represents businesses across the sector, urged a delay in 5G implementation near airports of concern.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/business/att-verizon-5g-airlines.html

[Twoflower]

1. 5G seems to work in Europe /nt

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Different frequencies

What’s the outlook for 5G spectrum harmonization in Europe?

By Sean Kinney, Editor in Chief
August 23, 2019

While European regulators have articulated plans to auction millimeter wave licenses, all of the current and planned network activations are based on mid-band frequencies centered in the 3.4 GHz to 3.8 GHz range. European Union officials are also working toward spectrum harmonization for 5G across the continent.

In January, the European Commission announced it will spectrum harmonization efforts focused on the 3.6 GHz band for 5G. In a statement, the EC said the harmonization process of this spectrum band will enable member states to use this spectrum for 5G by the end of 2020, adhering to rules set out in the EU’s new Electronic Communications Code, which was cleared in December 2018.

“This band has been harmonized for wireless broadband services in the European Union since 2008. However, its use has been low and only a limited number of licenses had been issued. This amendment of the decision updates the technical conditions to make them 5G-ready as the 3.6 GHz band has been identified as the primary pioneer band for 5G in the European Union,” the EC said in a statement.

More recently, in May, the EC has adopted a decision to harmonize the radio spectrum in the 26 GHz band across the European Union for the future use with 5G technology. The decision finalizes the EU-wide coordination of all three pioneer bands (700 MHz, 3.6 GHz and 26 GHz) needed for 5G rollout in the member states.

https://www.rcrwireless.com/20190823/5g/5g-spectrum-harmonization-europe

America's 5G Future

Spectrum
5G Speedometer

The FCC is taking action to make additional spectrum available for 5G services.

High-band: The FCC has made auctioning high-band spectrum a priority. The FCC concluded its first 5G spectrum auctions in the 28 GHz band; the 24 GHz band; and the upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands. With these auctions, the FCC is releasing almost 5 gigahertz of 5G spectrum into the market—more than all other flexible use bands combined. The FCC is also working to free up 2.75 gigahertz of 5G spectrum in the 26 and 42 GHz bands and it has initiated a proceeding to make more efficient use of additional millimeter-band spectrum in the 70/80/90 GHz bands.

Mid-band: Mid-band spectrum has become a target for 5G buildout given its balanced coverage and capacity characteristics. With our work on the 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz, and 3.7-4.2 GHz bands, we will make more than 600 megahertz available for 5G deployments.

Low-band: The FCC is acting to improve use of low-band spectrum (useful for wider coverage) for 5G services, with targeted changes to the 600 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz bands.

Unlicensed: Recognizing that unlicensed spectrum will be important for 5G, the agency is creating new opportunities for the next generation of Wi-Fi in the 5.9 GHz, 6 GHz and above 95 GHz band.

https://www.fcc.gov/5G

[FakeNoose]

3. I guess European techs are smarter that our techs

Doesn't anybody talk to anyone outside their own narrow field?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Europe is running their 5G on blocks of frequencies that are different from those in the U.S.

The FCC is continually freeing up chunks (including some from the old analog TV frequencies) to auction off for that use. Apparently some of the blocks that the carriers had obtained are overlapping with (or are too close to) the aircraft communications frequencies.

Hell - we see that problem with wifi where you have a billion things that were programmed to use the 2.4 GHz frequency - whether they are laptops or cordless phones or even microwave ovens.

[madville]

4. So is this the FCC's fault?

They ultimately control and regulate the spectrum.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. I would put some of that in their lap

although the vast majority of cell towers WOULDN'T be around or in airports - they would be elsewhere but obviously they would need some there anyway.

[MicaelS]

5. Fuck the FAA and the airlines.

They knew 5G was coming for years. The FAA has to be dragged kicking into anything. This is a pissing contest between aviation, the FAA and the FCC. I wish POTUS would tell them they have 90 days to fix this.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Well it's not a matter of the FAA "fixing" something

it would require a complete replacement of all the radio equipment that uses any of the overlapping frequencies. However if they have equipment where the frequencies can be set "universally" away from the 5G bands used in the immediate vicinity of an airport (and I expect much of that equipment allows a change in frequencies when being used), then that would need to happen - OR- the cell carriers need to update PRLs or whatever list of geo-located towers is enabled on the phone (and adjust the equipment on the towers) so they don't use those overlapping frequencies in or near any airports.

[Amy_Jones_90]

9. Most of this

is the result of Trump appointee Ajit Pai, who was head of the FCC and was responsible for the plan to base US 5G on millimeter-wave spectrum rather than mid-band (which is what most other developed nations have done). That led to a FCC-vs-FAA battle which continues to this day. The guy was a complete disaster and typical inept Trump bureaucrat.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/ajit-pai-enemies-5g-351803

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I think he is still there too (due to the term lengths)

and is an ass.