The International Air Transport Association, which advocates for the global travel industry, fears the U.S. experience with 5G near airports applies elsewhere too. It’s shaken by the recent decision of AT&T and Verizon to further delay 5G operations near some airports for up to a year to give the FAA and airlines time to upgrade or replace radio altimeters that may be vulnerable to interference.
“We must not repeat the recent experience in the United States, where the rollout of C-band spectrum 5G services created enormous disruption to aviation, owing to the potential risk of interference with radio altimeters that are critical to aircraft landing and safety systems,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh told Telecoms.com. “In fact, many countries have successfully managed to facilitate the requirements of 5G service providers, while including necessary mitigations to preserve aviation safety and uninterrupted services. These include, for example, Brazil, Canada, France and Thailand.”
IATA called on governments and regulators to check with airlines before using potentially troublesome 5G spectrum. “FAA’s unilateral decision to require airlines to replace or upgrade their existing radio altimeters – which are approved by both the FAA and the US FCC – by July 2023 is deeply disappointing and unrealistic,” said Walsh. “The FAA has not even approved or certified all the safety solutions that it will require, nor have systems providers been able to say with certainty when the equipment will be available for much of the fleet. So how can there be any confidence in the timeline?”
This “dysfunction” between U.S. agencies is something IATA is apparently worried will be repeated elsewhere, notes Telecoms.com. “Furthermore, [the] FAA can provide no guarantee that airlines will not have to carry out further upgrades to radio altimeters as even more powerful 5G networks are deployed in the near future. Safety is our highest priority, but it cannot be achieved with this rushed approach,” Walsh added. “The FAA needs to continue working with all stakeholders collaboratively and transparently, including the FCC and the telecom sector, to define solutions and deadlines that reflect reality.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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