[akkawwakka]

I recommend checking out Juan Browne’s video [1] that contrasts studies from the aviation world and one from the telecoms. Spoiler: the former brings more technical analysis than the latter.

I’d love to know why the FAA is ‘rolling over’ to the telecoms / FCC on this matter. The spectrum was in use for RADALTs before 5G and safety systems like autoland, used when visibility starts coming down to minimums, rely on them.

Seems to me that, like Canada, the US should just not allow 5G cell sites near critical areas around an airport.

[1]: https://youtu.be/942KXXmMJdY

[tssva]

The spectrum in question was never allocated for use by RADALTs. Prior to being allocated for 5G use it was used for C-band satellite transmission. If there is an issue of interference with RADALTs the real question should be why did the FAA allow deployment of RADALTs in aircraft which could not operate in their allocated frequency band without risk of dangerous interference from already assigned frequencies. The second question should be what is the FAA, aircraft and airline industry going to do to quickly correct the issue they created.

[mdasen]

I think there's a lot of pressure to get the spectrum in the hands of wireless carriers. They spent nearly $100B on that spectrum and Verizon and AT&T are anxious to put it into play. T-Mobile already has mid-band spectrum for 5G at 2.5GHz and they're seeing customers on their mid-band spectrum get speeds of around 300Mbps. As their mid-band coverage expands, Verizon and AT&T won't want to be left behind. Likewise, the administration would like for the US to be seen as a 5G leader. We see articles with headlines like "US carriers advertise 5G, but their speeds lag other countries." A huge part of that is that Verizon and AT&T haven't been able to deploy new spectrum.

I don't know enough about how far around airports they'd want to block C-Band from being used, but in a city like San Diego, it would probably block off a decent amount of the city given where its airport is. In a place like New York, how far would you want to block off? Clearly not all of bravo airspace, but how much is needed (maybe you know how much Canada had to block off)?

I'm not sure that the FAA is rolling over. In some ways, saying "we're going to make air-travel suffer huge problems if they start activating C-Band spectrum" is saying "if you activate C-Band spectrum, Congress is going to start having hearings as to why the government is letting wireless carriers prevent people from traveling." I think the FAA is noting exactly how bad the situation might be if they go forward with C-Band plans.

I think it's also a situation where people might be unsure who has authority. Can the FAA ban wireless signals that the FCC says are ok? Can one government agency take another to court despite being part of the same administration? At some point the administration controls both and might need to make a decision.

But I think there's a lot of pressure to let C-Band go forward. Wireless carriers are looking to 10x their wireless networks and it seems likely that wireless home internet will become a big way that more rural areas get high-speed internet (even C-Band signals can get decent range with good antennas and using low-frequency spectrum for uploads).

[alexjplant]

I was thinking the exact same thing re: San Diego since I live here. Whenever I walk or jog northbound on Harbor Drive past the airport I run by a cell tower disguised as a tree that's six lanes of traffic away from the airport fence. My apartment is a 1.5 mile walk from the terminal and I hear planes on a regular basis. It didn't really occur to me until I moved here how truly close the airport is to downtown.

[oliveshell]

I’ll second that recommendation. For any who don’t know him, Juan Browne’s videos are the best resource I’ve found for sober, no-bullshit reporting and analysis on everything related to aviation.

Juan (a.k.a. Blancolirio on YouTube) is an airline pilot and former military aviator who doesn’t sensationalize and really knows his stuff.

[MertsA]

Not to mention all his videos on the Oroville dam spillway failure and reconstruction process. Top notch reporting on the subject from an individual.

[InTheArena]

Its also worth remembering that the FAA insisted for years and years and years that any sort of cell phone / iPad / laptop use in flight would cause a accident - with the same sort of scare tactics as used here. They eventually backed off of that and insisted it was only during takeoff and landing..

This playbook has been run before.