The New Air War

 

The New Air War

 A "completely avoidable economic calamity"?

Remember when airlines banned cellphones from being used while flying on commercial airlines? Turned out that there was more about bothering the individual sitting next to you or trying to find a signal than actual interference with the navigational systems of the aircraft. Well airline industry, addressing 5G, continues to cry “foul.” A group of ten major domestic carriers have petitioned the Department of Transportation, the FAA, etc. to ban true 5G (C-band) transmissions within two miles of an active runway. Transmission base stations near airports would thus be shut down. This time, even the FAA cannot guarantee a clean bill of health for the use of 5G near airports and on aircraft (see below). There are quite literally billions and billions of dollars involved.

Citing communications with the largest airplane manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were joined by other carriers in saying: "Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies,” including vaccine distribution. Airlines also suggested that tens of thousands of American passengers might be stranded in distant land with no viable way back. In their correspondence to US agencies, they said, “Airplane manufacturers have informed us that there are huge swathes of the operating fleet that may need to be indefinitely grounded.”

 

The risks as posited by the airlines: “5G relies on radio signals. In the US, the radio frequencies being used for 5G are in part of the spectrum known as C-Band… These frequencies are close to the ones used by radio altimeters on aeroplanes, which measure the height of the aircraft above the ground, but also provide data for safety and navigation systems… The concern is that interference from 5G transmissions could stop these instruments from working properly, and cause safety problems, particularly when aircraft are coming in to land.” BBC.com, January 18th. 

Experts confirm that these risks are both serious and very real. “In late 2020, the RTCA - a US organisation which produces technical guidance on aviation issues - published a report on the subject… It said there was ‘potential for broad impacts to aviation operations in the United States, including the possibility of catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities, in the absence of appropriate mitigations.’” BBC.com Earlier this year, wireless carriers agreed to postpone deployment of their C-band, elevated 5G services, but that date is now. 

In early January, AT&T announced, “we know aviation safety and 5G can co-exist and we are confident further collaboration and technical assessment will allay any issues.” Further delays in deploying this 5G capacity – with vastly higher upload and downland speeds plus an ability to handle vastly greater levels of clarity and detail – could cost the telephone carriers billions of dollars in lost revenues. “US wireless industry group CTIA has previously said 5G is safe and accused the aviation industry of fearmongering and distorting facts… ‘A delay will cause real harm. Pushing back deployment one year would subtract $50bn in economic growth, just as our nation recovers and rebuilds from the pandemic,’ said CTIA chief executive Meredith Attwell Baker in a blog post in November.” BBC.com

So what does the FAA say? “In an update on Sunday [1/16], the FAA, which oversees aviation safety across the US, said it had cleared ‘an estimated 45% of the US commercial fleet to perform low-visibility landings at many of the airports where 5G C-band will be deployed.’

“The FAA added that it had approved ‘two radio altimeter models that are installed in a wide variety of Boeing and Airbus planes… Even with these new approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected,’ the regulator said… ‘The FAA also continues to work with manufacturers to understand how radar altimeter data is used in other flight control systems. Passengers should check with their airlines if weather is forecast at a destination where 5G interference is possible.’” BBC.com. Passsengers?!

In the end, we are very likely to see a ban on C-band 5G usage near FAA-identified airports, at least until aircraft are either cleared to fly despite 5G transmissions or are outfitted with the new FAA-approved altimeters that are not affected by this smartphone usage. For those facing long waits at airports, due to Omicron staffing shortages, that time might be a bit more boring without elegant access to 5G (C-band) delivered entertainment… but a whole lot safer.

I’m Peter Dekom, and in dramatically unstable times, the laws of unintended consequences continue to operate unabated.