TUE 18 JAN, 2022-theGBJournal- Major U.S airlines has warned that 5G could ground some planes, wreak havoc to a significant number of widebody aircrafts and potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas and cause chaos for U.S flights, Reuters report.
The U.S Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned earlier that potential interference could affect sensitive airplane instruments such as altimeters and significantly hamper low visibility operations.
The FAA said in a statement, it will require operators of Boeing 787s to take additional precautions when landing on wet or snowy runway airports where 5G C-band service is deployed.
It said wireless companies agreed to turn off transmitters and make other adjustments near these airports for six months to minimise potential 5G interference with sensitive aircraft instruments used in low-visibility landings.
Reuters quote chief executives of American Airlines (AAL.O), Delta Airlines DAL.N), United Airlines, Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) and others as saying, ‘’unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the travelling and shipping public will essentially be grounded.’’
Reuters also reported that airlines late on Monday were considering whether to begin cancelling some international flights that are scheduled to arrive in the United States on Wednesday.
Aviation stakeholders, including National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), first raised concerns in 2015 about potential 5G telecommunications networks operating from 3.7-3.98 gigahertz (GHz), within a range commonly referred to as the C-band and in close proximity to frequencies utilized by radar altimeters, a critical piece of safety equipment in commercial airliners and many business aircraft.
These groups proposed limiting frequency allocation for such networks to a lower spectrum between 3.2-3.7 GHz, farther distanced from radar altimeter signals. However, in December 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auctioned off rights to the higher bandwidth range, which was subsequently awarded to Verizon and AT&T last February for use by their respective upcoming high-speed voice and data transmission networks.
Both providers initially planned to roll out their 5G networks, operating within 3.7-3.98 GHz, in late 2021, but later agreed to delay that date to the first week in January 2022. The intended date for full nationwide deployment of the networks was Wednesday, Jan. 5. However, as the date approached, aviation stakeholders, including NBAA, lawmakers and top officials with the FAA and DOT weighed in with concerns about the potential for the networks’ signals to interfere with radar altimeters and other key safety technologies aboard fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
On Jan. 4, Verizon and AT&T voluntarily agreed to another delay, until Jan. 19, for the deployment of C-Band 5G services. Following the full 5G launch on Jan. 19, the companies have said they plan to provide “protection zone” mitigations in active service areas for six months.
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