FAA Concerns 5G Technology Could Disrupt Aviation Safety

5G technology is said to be dangerous for commercial airplane flights. (photo: unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has raised significant concerns about plans to use spectrum for 5G wireless networks in aviation safety. They even plan to issue a formal warning on the matter, according to sources and a letter seen by Reuters.

The airline industry has been voicing concerns about plans to use C-Band spectrum for more than a year. Network operators are expected to start using spectrum from 5 December starting at Market 46.

FAA Deputy Administrator Bradley Mims in his previously unreported Oct. 6 letter said the agency would like to share "deep concerns about the potential impact on aviation safety resulting from disruptions to radar altimeter performance from 5G network operations in the C band."

An FAA spokesman said on Friday 29 October that it "continues to engage with other agencies so that aviation and the latest generation of 5G mobile technology, can coexist safely."

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday it remains committed to ensuring air safety as demonstrated by the agency's track record of success, while moving forward with the deployment of new technologies that support the needs of businesses and consumers in the United States.

The FAA held a lengthy October 14 meeting with the aviation industry on this issue. "FAA and FCC officials have had many discussions on this matter," the source said.

The FAA plans to soon issue a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin and airworthiness directive on the matter, two officials told Reuters, also backed up in a Wall Street Journal report.

The aerospace and aviation sector met with the FCC in August. They warned without change "major disruption to the use of the National Airspace System could occur from the 5G rollout" and added the FAA would be forced to "drastically reduce flight operational capacity."

Meanwhile, wireless trade group CTIA said Friday 5G networks can safely use C-band spectrum "without causing harmful interference to aviation equipment," and cited many active 5G networks using this spectrum in 40 countries... Any delays in activating this spectrum risk to American competitiveness."

One long-term solution would be retrofitting some altimeters with "out-of-band filters," but that would likely take years, and "thousands of civilian aircraft would likely be affected, aviation industry sources said.