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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,708
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption

Excerpt from:  cnn.com/2022/01/19/business/5g-aviation-safety-europe/index.html

 

In the United States, differences of opinion over the risk posed by 5G have devolved into a bitter public dispute involving federal regulators as well as aviation and telecom companies. Major carriers including British Airways, Lufthansa (DLAKY)  and Emirates have canceled flights to the United States, citing the issue.
 
"We were not aware that the power of the antennas in the United States [has] been doubled compared to what's going on elsewhere. We were not aware that the antenna themselves have been put into a vertical position rather than a slight slanting position," Emirates President Tim Clark told CNN Business on Wednesday.
 
"So on that basis we took that decision late last night to suspend all our services until we had clarity," he added.
 
AT&T, which owns CNN's parent company, and Verizon both announced Tuesday that they would delay activating 5G on some towers around certain airports. The wireless technology's rollout near major airports had been scheduled for Wednesday.
 
"We are frustrated by the FAA's inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner," said Megan Ketterer, a spokesperson for AT&T.
The eyes through which you see others may be the same as how they see you.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,486
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption

George Holmes, the chair and CEO of Resonant, a 5G industry player, told Barron’s that the difference between the U.S. and Europe stems from allocated frequencies for 5G, and their proximity to the defined band for altimeters.

 

Resonant is a Nasdaq-listed company that designs radio frequency filters, which are used to isolate signals from the right band while blocking unwanted noise from elsewhere in the radio spectrum. These filters are critical in 5G applications.

 

In the U.S., 5G is allocated to a range of between 3.7GHz and 3.98GHZ, which is closer to the 4.2GHz-4.4GHz frequency for altimeters than in Europe, which has allocated the 3.4GHz-3.8GHz range for 5G. Holmes said that in Europe altimeter filters will be better at stopping 5G signals, which will result in less potential interference.

 

“We are dealing with very low probabilities but extremely devastating consequences,” Holmes said. “We are still in the early stages of 5G deployments and usage, so this interference problem remains a potential for the future.”

 

“Longer term, this highlights the need for high-performance filters for all of the different technologies to co-exist above 3GHz,” he added.

 

For its part, the CTIA—a trade group representing the U.S. wireless communication industry—underscores that nearly 40 countries already use 5G in the region of the radio spectrum shared with altimeters, with no impact on aviation. 

 

The CTIA cited the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which considers a 200MHz “guard band” protecting radar altimeters to be sufficient. When the FCC allocated space in the radio spectrum for 5G wireless services in early 2020, it left a 220MHz space between these services and the band for radar altimeters.

 

Divergent decisions among regulators in the European Union and U.S. could also be a matter of politics.

 

Jonathan Atkin, a managing director at RBC Capital Markets specializing in telecommunications, told Barron’s that the difference may be mostly due to interagency dynamics within the U.S. government that don’t apply in Europe.

 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,892
Registered: ‎07-16-2021

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption

5G has been a controversial topic for several years. Hard to know how to separate fact from fiction when so many reporting it have self-interests in  it. Are we supposed to be excited, freaked out, or terrified? 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,054
Registered: ‎05-01-2020

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption


@Duckncover wrote:

5G has been a controversial topic for several years. Hard to know how to separate fact from fiction when so many reporting it have self-interests in  it. Are we supposed to be excited, freaked out, or terrified? 


Well, some have tried to raise the alarm about higher rates of cancer and other major health concerns so there's that.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,986
Registered: ‎10-04-2015

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption

Snoopp wrote:
maximillian wrote:

It does sound serious.  My question is: why is this getting serious publicity just now?  It sounds like officials have known about the potential problems for some months. 


I wondered about this as well.  At least in terms of the effect on piloting aircraft.  Was this discovered fairly recently?


 

 

For years, the aviation community has been raising red flags about 5G interference with aircraft safety instruments—concerns that have been ignored by the FCC and the telecom companies, creating the mess we’re in today. ~ ALPA President 

 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,580
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption

@geezerette , thank you.  

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,871
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: AIRLINES warn of 5G flight disruption

We've known 5G was coming for a couple years, it seems like, and now it's an emergency.  FAA, FCC, Verizon, ATT....wake up!

 

My understanding is that even though 5G is successfully used in Europe around airports

the radio frequencies are slightly different..

 

European 5G radio frequencies are at 3.4 to 3.8 GHZ

 

American frequencies are at 3.7 to 3.98 GHZ

 

The frequencies used by airplanes is 4.2 to 4.4 GHZ

 

The frequencies used by airplanes is slightly closer to the 5G frequencies used in the U.S. than in Europe.  Of course, American carriers go to Europe, and I would hope they would be aware of the difference in case of erroneous readings from the altimeter.