ExpertFlyer Sits with CNET Senior Reporter, and Aviation Attorney and Former Airline Pilot to Discuss Ways the FAA and FCC can Balance Increased Demand for Broadband with Passenger Safety
NEW YORK, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As consumer demand for sending and receiving more information in less time increases, wireless carriers are rolling out the new 5G network to satisfy those demands. So, what does that have to do with airline travel and why did the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure need a Congressional hearing in February to discuss it? Well, apparently the radio waves within the electromagnetic spectrum used with 5G may interfere with radio frequencies used by many airline altimeters, the device that measures the distance between the aircraft and the ground. Not a big deal on a beautiful sunny day, but bad weather and low visibility is another matter entirely.
To help travelers understand the actual issues at hand and confirm if there is a safety issue passengers need to be concerned with, ExpertFlyer recently went One-on-One with Maggie Reardon, Senior Reporter at CNET who has been covering this topic since November and spectrum issues more generally for almost two decades, and Dean Greenblatt, aviation attorney and former airline pilot, to help sort the facts from fiction. Is passenger safety really at risk? Will flights need to be re-routed? Will this cause fares to rise? To listen to both interviews in their entirely, visit ExpertFlyer's blog.
"Right now, the FAA is focusing on the primary safety issue, which is to identify which planes are using the old altimeters," said Maggie Reardon. "The safety issue only comes into play when there's bad weather and pilots can't see the runway, or they have low visibility. But there are other ways of landing the plane and I don't think that the FAA is allowing planes to go up that are unsafe."
Ms. Reardon explains that the center of the issue lies along the C-band spectrum where the radio frequencies used with airline altimeters and those used by Verizon and AT&T for 5G are very close to each other, causing interference. "At the time, no one else was using that C-band spectrum so the airline altimeters didn't need to use these new filtering technologies," Reardon explains. "What really needs to happen is they have to figure out a way to either replace those altimeters or alter them in some way. But that's a big job and potentially expensive."
Dean Greenblatt concurs that passenger safety is not really the issue but it's the cost and inconvenience passengers may experience that could be worrisome. "People should feel okay about flying because the system is secure. That's not going to be the issue. The issue is whether or not travelers are going to experience additional costs or flight disruptions in poor weather conditions. That's a real possibility until this issue gets resolved."
According to Greenblatt, the problem emanated from a general lack of communication between the FAA and FCC. "The FCC auctions certain spectrum and the 5G spectrum was auctioned off some time ago to AT&T and Verizon to operate their 5G networks. But the FCC is supposed to cooperate with other governmental entities. They do that through the NTIA, which is the National Telecommunications Information Administration." The NTIA is principally responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues and managing the Federal government and industry's efficient use and allocation of spectrum.
"In this case, there were some indications that there were problems, but we also had an independent, private nonprofit called the RTCA, the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics look into the matter. After analyzing the issue, they developed a report which concluded there were some radio altimeters that use an area of the spectrum that is very close to the 5G spectrum and that could interfere with the use of airline radio altimeters."
So why isn't Europe facing the same issues with their implementation of 5G? "The European Union uses a different spectrum for 5G, Greenblatt said. "It's further displaced from the frequencies that are used by radio altimeters but it's also a question of power, placement, and angle of the antenna. We really need to address this with the US telecoms so that they can adjust their power and angle of their antenna to avoid unnecessary interference."
To listen to the full interviews with Maggie Reardon and Dean Greenblatt, visit ExpertFlyer's blog.
About Maggie Reardon
Maggie Reardon is a senior reporter for CNET News, where, since 2004 she has covered tech policy, broadband, the digital divide, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the debate over how to regulate Big Tech.
About Dean Greenblatt
Dean Greenblatt is an attorney licensed in Michigan and Florida. Dean has 4,000 hours flying as an airline transport pilot and flight instructor with additional ratings in seaplanes and gliders. He is a part-time professor of aviation law; twice served as chairperson of the Aviation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan; was appointed to the Michigan Aeronautics Commission; and volunteers as coordinator for Operation Good Cheer, an all-volunteer gift-giving program for foster children. Greenblatt's aviation practice includes civil litigation and FAA enforcement defense for airlines, certificate holders, operators and related businesses.
About ExpertFlyer.com
Each month, ExpertFlyer's One-on-One blog goes face-to-face with the travel industry's leading decision makers to discuss and address topics relevant to many of today's business and frequent travelers.
ExpertFlyer.com was conceived and created by an eclectic team consisting of a veteran elite tier frequent flyer, an airline captain and corporate travel manager, and information technology professionals to deliver a 24/7 real time powerful air travel information service. The company provides its subscribers and corporate travel managers alike with a complete, concise, and efficient way to access the ever-changing details of worldwide air travel information. For more information, please visit expertflyer.com.
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