Why 5G causes flight cancellations

Your 5G phone may finally work like those amazingly fast 5G phones you heard about on TV commercials. On January 19, Verizon and AT&T turned on new cellular frequencies that will boost connectivity for tens of millions of phones across the United States. Now that these broadcasts are activated, you should be able to download the entire movie to your phone in just a few minutes.

This is due to the addition of C-band frequencies, which not only improves speed but also potentially expands 5G’s range. AT&T has turned on these frequencies in eight metropolitan areas in the United States, and Verizon’s new 5G service is expected to be available in more than 1,700 cities in the United States this month. This is welcome news for anyone who owns or plans to buy one of these devices, making it more than 10 times faster than his previous 4G device. If you’re interested in these faster speeds, check to see if your current phone plan includes CC. Band coverage.

But whether the update is fully rolled out also depends on a familiar but unexpected critic of cellular technology: the Federal Aviation Administration.

What does 5G have to do with airplanes? Wireless carriers hoping to adopt the technology say it’s no big deal. But the FAA has said it is concerned that C-band could interfere with some radio altimeters, aircraft safety tools that rely on nearby radio waves. The agency is extremely concerned and is working to slow the 5G rollout, issuing guidance that flights from airports operating near certain 5G antennas may be cancelled. , which means anyone who flies or has one of these devices could be affected.

Just hours before the launch of the new 5G signal, Verizon and AT&T also agreed to delay the rollout of C-band within two miles of certain airport runways, but with no 5G service in other areas. will continue to expand. This latest compromise comes a day after the CEOs of 10 major U.S. airlines sent a letter to Pete Buttigieg warning that the FAA’s new rules would “shut down the nation’s commerce.” Announced.

“This agreement avoids potentially devastating disruptions to passenger travel, cargo transportation, and economic recovery, and keeps more than 90% of wireless tower deployments on schedule,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday. It becomes possible.” “This agreement will protect flight safety, allow air operations to continue without significant disruption, and bring more high-speed internet options to millions of Americans.”

To minimize confusion, the FAA is analyzing how individual altimeter models behave when C-band is turned on. The agency on Jan. 16 approved two altimeters used on many Airbus and Boeing aircraft, allowing about 45 percent of U.S. commercial airlines to fly when these new 5G frequencies are turned on. announced that it is now possible.

The FAA also imposed nearly 1,500 new restrictions on other aircraft operating in a 5G environment, including longer runways that certain aircraft need to land on and limits on the type of hardware that pilots can rely on. did. These restrictions affect not only commercial aircraft but also small jets and helicopters, and are already wreaking havoc on flight schedules. More airlines are canceling or rescheduling flights scheduled after the launch of 5G, and Boeing is forcing airlines to upgrade their 777s, one of the most common jets used for long-haul international flights. It was recommended that the aircraft not be operated.

It is unclear whether 5G will be an issue for these altimeters. After all, 5G itself is not entirely new. 5G smartphones have been on the market since 2019, and nearly 90 million of these devices were shipped in the US alone last year. Wireless carriers promise that the technology will not only deliver faster speeds, but also lower latency, allowing activities such as streaming media and video calls to occur without delay.

But to make 5G a reality, wireless companies have spent more than $81 billion buying the rights to use certain parts of the wireless spectrum, specifically the C-band frequencies between 3.7 and 3.98 GHz. Wireless providers use a variety of frequencies to transmit data between cell phones and transmitting stations, such as phone towers, that connect those devices to the Internet. Each frequency band has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The C-band is considered the spectrum sweet spot and is a critical part of wireless companies’ 5G ambitions. 5G mobile phones can already connect to the so-called millimeter wave spectrum, which operates at very high frequencies. Millimeter wave frequency bands support very high speeds and can transmit large amounts of data, but they do not extend very far. 5G phones can also connect to low-band spectrum, operating at much lower frequencies. Low-band frequencies can cover a large area, but they can only support small amounts of data and are therefore slower. C-band is basically between low-band and millimeter wave, so it’s pretty fast and covers a lot of area. Turning on these frequencies should be enough to finally start to see the real differences between 5G and 4G in your daily life.

Aviation regulators are very nervous about this C-band update because it could affect the radio altimeter of certain aircraft. This device transmits radio waves from the plane to the ground to help measure the plane’s altitude. The altimeter is especially useful on cloudy days or in mountainous areas when the pilot cannot see the landing site.

The problem is that altimeters rely on the part of the spectrum adjacent to the broadcast waves used in the C-band. In a nightmare scenario, the FAA believes that signals transmitted over the C-band could interfere with these altimeters, especially older altimeters, creating a potential safety hazard. Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission has already determined that 5G does not pose a problem for modern altimeters, and similar his 5G technology has already been successfully deployed in Europe.

To give airlines more time to address this concern, Verizon and AT&T have twice delayed C-band deployment. The update was originally scheduled for Dec. 5, but following intervention from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the airline pushed back that deadline by a month and then by two weeks to Jan. 19. Agreed. However, the FAA also made the announcement in December. If there is a risk of 5G interference, you may need to reschedule as you may rely on radio altimeter. The warning effectively put Verizon and AT&T at odds with the entire airline industry. With flight cancellations at risk, airlines and pilot and flight attendant unions are opposing 5G, arguing that the industry cannot currently handle further disruption.

“The ongoing pandemic has already pushed aviation to breaking point,” Sarah Nelson, president of the Flight Attendants Union, said in a recent statement. She added: “Adding tension and creating a potentially dangerous situation only makes a bad situation worse.”

There is a plan for peace, although it is unstable. Wireless carriers and airlines agreed late last year to test how well some wireless altimeters perform in real-world conditions, and the FAA said airlines could test how well some wireless altimeters perform under CC conditions. It continues to lift restrictions on aircraft one after another as it proves it works. Band is on. The agency also granted an exemption to some helicopter ambulances that use radio altimeters. Additionally, wireless providers have committed to not transmitting C-band at 50 airports selected by the FAA for at least six months, so any delays or cancellations at any of these airports will not be covered by 5G. I can’t blame you yet. However, if you have a 5G phone and he lives within a mile of these airports, it might be a little more frustrating.

But the standoff raises questions about why U.S. regulators weren’t more prepared for this moment. After all, 5G isn’t the first new generation of wireless technology the FAA has encountered. It is also possible that history repeats itself and the FAA does not take a proactive stance itself, leaving the task of proving that his C-band is safe to wireless carriers and airlines. The FAA just lifted its unilateral ban on cell phone and laptop use on airplanes in 2013, but the move comes after a years-long campaign by the consumer technology industry to show that these devices pose interference problems. This came after complaints from passengers who said the possibility of this happening was low.

Wireless carriers are certainly hoping that they have given their due diligence and have finally started the process of turning on C-band. This should bring better 5G coverage to customers. But don’t hold your breath. History has shown that the FAA doesn’t like cell phone technology, and there’s no reason to think it won’t stall again and mix things up.

Updated, January 19th, 11:30 a.m.: This article has been updated to note that AT&T and Verizon launched 5G in some U.S. cities on Wednesday.

Updated January 18th at 5:30pm: This article has been updated to note a new agreement between wireless carriers and the Biden administration.

Updated January 18th at 11:37am: This article has been updated to include new announcements from the Federal Aviation Administration regarding air operations and 5G.

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