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AT&T and Verizon finally got the go-ahead to begin new C-band 5G deployments earlier this year after months of disputes with the airline industry. Both airlines have had to make some concessions to assuage concerns that the new spectrum will interfere with aircraft instruments, but some pilots are now wondering if that will be enough. increase.
Through most of 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and major aviation industry stakeholders have been arguing that the frequencies used in the new C-band spectrum will be dangerously close to those occupied by critical aircraft equipment such as radar altimeters. claimed. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), AT&T, and Verizon disagreed. Studies conducted by government regulators have shown little to no risk.
Nonetheless, the carrier canceled its planned December 2021 rollout on January 5 to provide more time to confirm concerns and investigate potential impacts on aircraft. We agreed to postpone the date. But when the FAA called for that extension, the White House stepped in and brokered a speedy agreement between all parties.
Ultimately, AT&T and Verizon will limit the power levels of C-band 5G to the C-band network on January 19, with the proviso that they agree to exclusion zones around 50 major airports for the initial rollout. was allowed to turn on.
No “catastrophic disruption”
Despite dire warnings from some in the aviation industry, the rollout of the new C-band spectrum has moved forward without any of the “catastrophic disruption” predicted by airline executives.
In fact, the only disruptions that occurred were mostly due to self-harm. Several international airlines, including Japan Airlines and Air India, have suspended flights to major US airports. At the same time, his CEO of Emirates Airlines told CNN that the 5G deployment was one of the “most delinquent and utterly irresponsible” he’s done in his aviation career.
Nonetheless, flights resumed less than 48 hours after the C-band rollout began, and since then the aviation industry appears to be quietly pushing forward with the rollout of new 5G frequencies.
While it’s fair to say that the agreed no-go zones around major airports have helped alleviate some of the problems, the proposed zone would have prompted aviation authorities to sound alarm bells and call for further delays. I didn’t stop. After it turned out that the C-band deployment wasn’t an issue, officials quietly agreed that it might not be as serious as they first feared.
5G and radar altimeter
While the deployment of C-Band will not pose catastrophic safety issues for airlines, this does not mean that aviation industry officials and researchers do not have legitimate concerns.
The potential for interference between the new 5G spectrum and frequencies used by aircraft instruments exists. This is a question that has been studied many times, at least since 2020 when the FCC first proposed an auction from the new spectrum.
The FCC claimed tests showed that the new C-band spectrum, which operates in the 3.7-3.98 GHz range, is well away from the 4.2-4.4 GHz frequencies used in radar altimeters. FCC experts say his 0.22GHz (220MHz) gap is more than enough to avoid interference.
But the FAA disagreed, citing a 2020 research paper by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), an independent technical standards group representing the air transportation industry. The study showed that his 5G communications on the C-band spectrum could cause “harmful interference” to radar altimeters due to spurious emissions and “bandwidth pollution.”
The study acknowledged that the frequencies were far enough away from each other that this would not pose a problem, but the problem is that as 5G usage increases, the signal will be concentrated enough to “penetrate” into adjacent frequency bands. It was highly likely that Just like light pollution occurs near major cities.
Such interference can cause radar altimeters on most commercial aircraft to display false readings, which can be fatal in situations where pilots rely on accuracy to negotiate landings in difficult weather conditions. As such, the FAA’s list of 5G exempt airports includes many smaller areas prone to heavy fog and extended periods of poor visibility.
Pilot reporting concerns
While there have been no public reports of any serious safety issues, the rollout of 5G has left some pilots reeling after experiencing radar altimeter issues believed to be related to the new C-band frequencies. .
According to a recent report by IEEE Spectrum, there was a significant increase in complaints about altimeter failures after the new C-band spectrum was introduced on January 19th. Of course, correlation and causation do not always coincide. Also, the controversy surrounding 5G deployment has resulted in a certain level of over-awareness among flight crews. Still, there were ample reports suggesting a relationship between the two.
For example, according to pilot reports prepared for NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), shortly after C-band deployment began, multiple flights over Tennessee began experiencing altimeter errors, resulting in “assigned It became impossible to maintain the One airliner reported complete loss of autopilot, causing enough concern to ground control that a fire engine was waiting to land.
Another report in February revealed that a passenger plane attempting to land at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans received irregular low-altitude warnings. While these did not present a direct safety concern, pilots noted that they “can be very distracting in more difficult environments such as poor visibility and icing conditions”. did.
A commercial jet experienced a potentially serious autopilot failure at Los Angeles International Airport in March, beginning an “aggressive” descent just 100 feet above the ground. A scenario that could have caused a crash had the pilot not manually controlled the aircraft. .
To be clear, this kind of problem was not unheard of before 5G was rolled out. As such, the pilot had to be fixed in his seat at all times and ready to take control when the aircraft was operating on autopilot. However, the increasing frequency of such reports has raised concerns among many in the aviation industry.
According to IEEE Spectrum, which analyzed reports submitted to the ASRS database, “complaints about malfunctioning or failing altimeters surged after the deployment of high-speed 5G wireless networks earlier this year.”
Specifically, between January and May of this year, there were 93 calls regarding radar altimeter failures. “In January alone, there were nearly twice as many altimeter complaints as in the past five years combined,” the analysis notes.
In many cases, the flight attendants who wrote the reports pointed to 5G interference as the culprit. Of course, this is pure speculation, but it shows how much his new 5G deployment has been at the forefront of aviator minds.
After the new 5G frequencies went live, one pilot on a flight to San Francisco reported that the aircraft’s speed brakes unexpectedly engaged before landing. “In his over 18,000 hours as a Boeing airliner captain, he has never had his auto speed brakes arbitrarily engage before contact with the ground.” Landing 5G for the first time. “
However, some experts believe the hype around the dangers of the new 5G spectrum could skew the perceptions of those in the cockpit. IEEE Spectrum spoke with Chris Rudell, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. He suggested that at least some pilots may be misunderstanding what they’re experiencing in light of all the hype.
“I will sleep like a baby [on a plane] Rudell told IEEE Spectrum that pilots were much more likely to attribute equipment failures to the deployment of 5G, even in situations where there was no apparent connectivity, he added. , the FAA’s addition of a specific online form for reporting radio altimeter anomalies following the rollout of the new C-band didn’t help either, reducing incidents pilots may have previously shrugged off. We encourage you to report.
The FAA told IEEE Spectrum it has received about 550 submissions since January, but has only investigated about half of them so far. Interference could not be ruled out. However, he quickly added that none of these incidents, which may have been caused by 5G, impacted safety-related systems on the aircraft.
light at the end of the tunnel
Bandwidth pollution is caused by stronger concentrations of frequencies, so those involved cannot assume that there will be no more problems in the future just because things have been going relatively well thus far.
As more people upgrade to 5G devices, carriers install more C-band towers, and the use of 5G on these frequencies increases, certain regions will reach critical thresholds for 5G signals, Potentially enough to interfere with aircraft instruments.
Fortunately, researchers and regulators are not standing still. As Bloomberg recently reported, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which advises the president on telecommunications and information policy issues, is working with the Department of Defense, mobile operators and the airline industry to continue to monitor the impact of new 5G. We are investigating. frequency.
The results are encouraging and although aviation equipment may still be at risk of 5G interference, the mitigations introduced appear to be working. It includes exclusion zones and low power levels, as well as FAA-mandated radio frequency filter “patches” for “the most susceptible radio altimeters.” Verizon and AT&T have also agreed to continue some voluntary mitigation until at least mid-2023.
The NTIA report notes that there were “low levels of unwanted 5G radiation” on the frequencies used by so-called radar altimeters, so the report said the aircraft’s instruments were immune to 5G interference. Is not … It just confirms that the precautionary measures taken by the airline industry and mobile network operators have paid off.
In other words, don’t expect to see Verizon’s Ultra Wideband or AT&T’s 5G Plus networks at major airports anytime soon. Because these higher-tier 5G services primarily use the C-band spectrum, operators will only expect the FAA to respond after all potentially affected radar altimeters have been patched or replaced. You have to wait until you allow it to continue.
“Radio altimeter manufacturers have worked at an unprecedented pace to develop and test filters and mounting kits for these aircraft that can be installed in hours at an airline maintenance facility,” the FAA said. I’m here. The regulator expects work to be largely complete by next July, after which “wireless companies expect to operate networks in urban areas with minimal restrictions.” .
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