US delays 5G at airports over interference fears
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has delayed the roll out of C-band 5G at airports after concerns over interference with radio altimeters. The roll out by AT&T and Verizon was due to start today after a two month delay but the two have delayed the roll out further by two weeks with a series of mitigations similar to those used in the Europe.
This follows a letter from Airbus and Boeing to the FAA highlighting the risk to aircraft systems from full power 5G at 3.7 to 3.98GHz.
“Safety is the core of our mission and this guides all of our decisions. The FAA thanks AT&T and Verizon for agreeing to a voluntary delay and for their proposed mitigations. We look forward to using the additional time and space to reduce flight disruptions associated with this 5G deployment,” said the FAA.
Since 2015, the FAA and the world aviation industry jointly raised concerns both industries would need to address to achieve similar results and had ongoing technical discussions. In the World Radio Conference proposal, the proposal only supported an international mobile telecommunications 5G allocation in the 3.4 to 3.7 GHz spectrum, not the 3.7 to 3.98 GHz spectrum that is the issue for radio altimeters.
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“5G and aviation have safely coexisted in other countries because power levels have been reduced around airports and the industries have worked together prior to deployment. For years, we have been working to find a solution in the United States,” said the FAA.
“The wireless companies have offered to implement a set of mitigations comparable to measures used in some European operating environments. While U.S. standards and operating environments are unique, we believe this could substantially reduce the disruptions to air operations,” said the FAA. “These additional mitigations will be in place for six months around 50 airports identified as those with the greatest impact to the U.S. aviation sector.”
The Flight Safety Foundation in the US also strongly encouraged the FAA and federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work together to develop a plan that enables the safe and efficient implementation of 5G mobile communications services in the C-Band.
“It is critical to fully understand and mitigate potential 5G signal interference with radio altimeters that are integral to aircraft safety systems,” said the Foundation
The FAA’s recent airworthiness directives (ADs) would restrict the use of approach and landing procedures during low visibility conditions. Other safety-critical features such as aircraft and obstacle collision avoidance systems also depend on reliable radio altimeter performance. The Foundation is concerned about the possible unintended consequences of not having full safety enhancement system capabilities available to pilots and about the considerable efforts to develop and communicate the mitigations to all segments of the aviation sector. These restrictions will adversely impact different aviation operations, including helicopter emergency medical services.
“Restricting the use of safety-critical systems when in the vicinity of 5G interference, as outlined in recent FAA ADs, is not a viable long-term solution,” said Capt. Conor Nolan, chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Governors. “We should always be working to improve the situational awareness of flight crews, not restricting it.”
The Foundation believes that 5G and aviation can safely co-exist, but it is going to take a collaborative approach on the part of FAA and FCC, and stakeholders in the aviation and telecommunications industries, to resolve outstanding issues.
“We urge the formation of a government-industry expert panel to collaboratively develop viable and sustainable solutions for safe deployment before 5G activation,” said Dr. Hassan Shahidi, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “Working together, sharing and analyzing data, is going to result in the best outcome.”
www.flightsafety.com; www.faa.gov
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