5 G frequencies near airports are not a priority for government, airlines
AT&T T and Verizon agreed to delay the roll out of 5 G frequencies near some airports and aviation infrastructure, but a permanent fix is not known as a priority for the government and airlines. AT&T and Verizon VZ announced yesterday they would limit or delay the rollout of C-band service near U.S. airports, extending a previously agreed delay from Verizon and AT&T that was set to expire. The telecoms had previously agreed to delay the launch of the new frequency for two weeks in order to address regulatory and industry questions.
Huerta told Yahoo Finance Live that the airlines and telecom companies are cutting the middle.
He said that there could be a solution to this, from changes to how the new 5 G frequency is deployed near airports, and a continued refresh of the technology aboard aircraft. Huerta said that communication will have to be done across both industries.
President Joe Biden said the agreement would ensure air safety without disrupting air travel and allow 90% of 5 G wireless towers to be deployed. He pledged to engage with stakeholders to solve the remaining gap and reach a permanent, workable solution around these key airports, but worries remain as 5 G is rolled out elsewhere.
It's more of an issue for helicopters when you consider the fact that we're flying much lower, in urban environments and in places where we're likely to see 5 G towers come out first, according to John Shea, director of government affairs at Helicopter Association International.
Shea told Yahoo Finance that frequency interference could cause problems for flights over urban areas, like those commonly undertaken by medical and rescue helicopters.
The aviation industry, known for tight safety regulation, is not counting on equipment refreshes. Shea said that they were looking at being years away from having a 5 G-resistant radio altimeter. He said that the variety of equipment, 5 G towers, and airplane configurations all make matters worse.
He explained that a simple fix won't work in most circumstances, because the aircraft varies and the radio altimeter varies.
The aviation industry is worried that the new frequency band could interfere with equipment that help determine an aircraft's height and aid pilots in visibility and throttle control, among other systems.
The frequency in which C-band operates is adjacent to the frequencies commonly used by aircraft altimeters to measure altitude, said M. Cenk Gursoy, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Syracuse University.
Altimeters send signals to the ground and measure how long it takes for the signal to return, which could cause interference from C-band transmissions.
Telecom carriers have turned to the new frequency to address problems with existing 5 G technology. 5 G coverage suffers from poor coverage or poor range and coverage, or sees speeds and capacity not noticeably better than 4 G networks. Carriers say that the move to a dedicated data frequency will alleviate most of these problems.
The C-band frequency was previously used for satellite transmissions by broadcasters before it was auctioned off by the FCC to U.S. telecom operators AT&T and Verizon early last year. T-Mobile has sidestepped this issue because its 5 G service operates on a different frequency.
Gursoy explained that C-band use was previously not as important to the aviation industry because of its niche applications and use at locations typically not close to air traffic.
He told Yahoo Finance that the widespread deployment of base stations close to airports could lead to harmful interference.
Some aviation industry advocates admit that some of the confusion comes from a lack of communication. The telecoms were under the impression that the spectrum was free of interference, Huerta said. Some communication that needed to take place did not take place. Huerta pointed to other countries that have solved the issue by analyzing where towers are with the new frequency and looking at how they might interact with airport systems.
Huerta said that there was a middle ground because of the fact that this requires a great deal of collaboration at the governmental level. It just requires everyone to work together.