Aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have just added their names to the list of organizations and authorities demanding to put the deployment of 5G on the C-band spectrum on hiatus in North America.
The battle over the deployment of 5G services on C-band frequencies, which began a few weeks ago in the form of a conflict between the US telecoms gendarme – the FCC – and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA ), has just passed a new stage. As a reminder, while the FCC had authorized the deployment of 5G on the C band – like what is done in France – the FAA was opposed, for fear that the use of a 5G device on this particular piece of airspace could interfere with the altimeters that many aircraft use to enable automated landing procedures.
Since the beginning of the conflict, an increasing number of parties have intervened, in particular the industrial group CTIA. The group is highlighting a document it published which claims to show that many countries around the world have already deployed 5G services on the C-band spectrum without there being a dangerous impact on flying planes. on their territory. The document was posted on the website that CTIA created to tout the safety of 5G deployments.
Discussions in an impasse
Although AT&T and Verizon have already delayed planned 5G deployments due to the current conflict and FAA opposition, the FCC and CTIA remain true to their belief that using C-band is safe for people to use. flight systems. Five former FCC executives even wrote an open letter a few days ago supporting their position and citing the numerous investigations that allowed the FCC to initially approve the use of spectrum.
However, the FAA does not lack support either, as illustrated by the recent rallying of Boeing and Airbus to its crusade. In a letter to the US Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, Dave Calhoun, CEO of Boeing, and Jeffrey Knittel, CEO of Airbus Americas, both urged the Biden administration to support the postponement of 5G deployments by all. operators concerned.
According to figures delivered by Boeing and Airbus, 345,000 passenger flights and 5,400 freight flights could have experienced delays, diversions or cancellations had C-band 5G been in service during calendar year 2019.
No concerns noted in France
While there are clearly multiple agendas at work in this conflict and several billion dollars at stake, regulators and the companies involved appear to be at a stalemate. As tension increases, it’s increasingly unlikely that an out-of-court settlement will be reached by the C-Band 5G launch date – postponed to January 5 – that AT&T and Verizon had until. ‘to now advanced. It is impossible to know if the American operators will try to move forward despite the concerns of the FAA or if they will take a step back and allow the two federal regulators who have a stake in the game to settle the problem between them.
Either way, as Reuters noted, pilots, passengers and potential 5G users who could benefit from C-band deployments are caught in the crossfire. For a representative of the Air Line Pilots Association, quoted by Reuters, the ongoing conflict is a “big problem for passengers, shippers and the American economy”.
In France, where operators are also deploying their 5G networks on this famous C band (in this case on the 3.5 GHz band), the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) had also looked into the issue. in 2020, by requiring additional technical analyzes before switching on any 5G antenna near an airport. This has not yet detected any dysfunction likely to disrupt the deployment of 5G networks in the territory.
Source: ZDNet.com