Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun and Airbus CEO Jeffrey Knittel have urged US Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg to delay deployment of C-band spectrum for 5G wireless service. The companies have said the rollout will affect key aircraft instruments.
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“5G interference could adversely affect the ability of aircraft to safely operate,” said the letter, which has been obtained by Reuters.
Aviation regulators and manufacturers have expressed concerns that C-band 5G will interfere with radio altimeters on commercial aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration forced a delay in 5G despite having no proof of harm to flight communication.
The instruments send out radio signals in the 4.2–4.4 GHz region and wait for a response. The aircraft can compute its height above the ground by monitoring the time it takes for the signal to return to the sensor. Pilots can get a more precise reading from radio altimeters than from barometric altimeters, which rely on air pressure.
The aviation sector is afraid that rogue 5G transmissions could interfere with their computations.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission have been at odds over the 5G C-band rollout for a long time.
The FCC set aside a 220 MHz guard band, limiting mobile carriers to 3.7–3.98 GHz despite finding no credible evidence of interference. The FCC stated that this is "twice the minimum guard band requirement indicated in initial comments by Boeing and ASRC."
