Thousands of planes banned from low visibility landings in the United States due to 5G

Ultra high speed, low latency, autonomous vehicles, remote surgery, unrestrained video games: 5G is often presented by its zealots as a technological imperative on the way to the future. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an American aviation regulatory body, is a little more dubious on the question: according to it, 5G will even be responsible for delays of planes at their destination.

But how then could a communication technology slow down four-engined aircraft? By preventing them from being able to safely rely on their precious navigation devices in bad weather, says the FAA. Fearing interference with altimeters, the agency has banned thousands of devices and helicopters – 6.834 to be precise, from relying on their measurements, reports The Verge.

“Landings in periods of low visibility could be limited due to concerns that the 5G signal could alter the accuracy of an aircraft’s altimeter, if other measures are not taken,” explains Lynn Lunsford, spokesperson for the FAA, to the American site.

“These limitations could prevent groups of planes from reaching certain places in low visibility, and lead to flight deviations”, can we read in a document published by the FAA: unbeatable on Fortniteyes, but twenty-four hours late for the Christmas holidays.

C-Band

The problem is peculiar to the middle band of spectrum used by the 5G protocol, also known as C-Band, being rolled out in parts of the United States after auctions costing operators tens of billions of dollars. Although the frequency of this C-Band is distinct from that used by radio altimeters, it is close enough to it to cause concern.

In early November, Verizon and AT&T announced that they would postpone the commissioning of these new frequencies and temporarily lower the transmission power of frequencies already in service, following joint concerns from the FCC, the US Federal Communications Commission and the FAA. .

All ensure that they are working hand in hand to ensure that these fears remain at the hypothesis stage, so that 5G and civil aviation can coexist without danger for the fleet and so that technical measures are taken by airlines to to secure the perfect functioning of the piloting tools, in all circumstances.

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