Wed, Dec 09, 2020
The Group’s Request To Suspend The Auction Is Rooted In Findings From A RTCA Study
A group of 15 aviation associations sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing concern over frequency spectrum relocation affecting radar altimeters, a critical flight safety tool.
The group requested that the FCC suspend Auction 107, scheduled to begin December 8, which offers new flexible-use overlay licenses for spectrum in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band, in order to resolve likely interference issues with radar altimeters prior to the auction.
“Since 2017, the aviation industry has consistently noted during the Federal Communications Commission rulemaking process that deployment of 5G networks in this frequency band may introduce harmful radio frequency interference to radar altimeters currently operating in the globally-allocated 4.2–4.4 GHz aeronautical band,” the group wrote. “Radar altimeters are deployed on tens of thousands of civil aircraft in the United States and worldwide to support several critical safety-of-life aircraft functions throughout multiple phases of flight. Radar altimeters are the only sensor onboard a civil aircraft which provides a direct measurement of the clearance height of the aircraft over the terrain or other obstacles.”
The group’s request to suspend the auction is rooted in findings from a RTCA study on the impact of C-band mobile telecommunications interference on low range radar altimeter operations. The study revealed that 5G telecommunications systems in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band will cause harmful interference to radar altimeters on all types of civil aircraft—including large commercial transport airplanes; business, regional, and general aviation airplanes; and both transport and general aviation helicopters. Without appropriate mitigations, such interference could lead to catastrophic failures. The study was submitted to the FCC for consideration back in October and additional information was provided to the FCC.
More News
Instrument Runway A runway equipped with electronic and visual navigation aids for which a precision or nonprecision approach procedure having straight-in landing minimums has been>[...]
Aero Linx: Alaska Airmen's Association The Alaska Airmen's Association includes over 2,000 members—we are one of the largest General Aviation communities in the country. We s>[...]
Also: Flt School Security, G600 Steep-Approach, Honduran Aid, PW545D Cert Two aircraft performing at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show clipped wings during a routine last Sunday, spooki>[...]
Also: SkyReach Parts Support, Piper Service Ctr, Airliner Near-Miss, Airshow London The Judge overseeing Icon's convoluted Chapter 11 process has approved $9 million in Chapter 11 >[...]
Also: Paramotor Champ's, Electric Ultralight, ICON BK Update, Burt Rutan at Oshkosh! The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out for help in rebuilding their private runway >[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.16.24): Instrument Runway
See All