What caused the '5G frenzy' that disrupted US skies?
In the United States, the launch of new 5G services last week caused airlines around the world to cancel some flights to the United States, affecting domestic flights as well. Why did this chaos occur, even though it didn't turn out to be the worst of all air transportation? The Associated Press reports how and what happened. Airline officials have accused AT&T and Verizon, under pressure from the White House, of delaying the rollout of 5G towers around many airports, adding to the chaos. The delay has bought the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) time to narrow down the aircraft that can operate freely under the 5G network. On January 20, the decision was made to allow 78% of all aircraft owned by U.S. airlines to land at an airport with a 5G communication environment, even in poor visibility conditions. It remains possible that about one-fifth of aircraft will be unable to land at some airports in the event of bad weather, but that is certainly decreasing, and the CEOs of American Airlines and United Airlines have warned that there will be a significant impact on flights in the future. He issued a statement saying there would be no confusion.
What went wrong?
Mobile operators have been rolling out next-generation 5G services for several years, but the newest C-band is a much faster and more stable wireless network. AT&T and Verizon were in fierce competition with T-Mobile because they could secure Not only will 5G make it possible to download movies and other videos faster, it will be crucial for autonomous driving, modern manufacturing processes, smart cities, telemedicine and other fields that rely on IoT. The problem is that 5G operates in radio frequency bands close to those used by radio altimeters, which measure the height of aircraft above ground. The problem was already reported in 2020 in a report by the aviation research group RTCA, which alerted pilots and airlines to possible radio interference that could threaten safety. The telecommunications industry group CTIA, meanwhile, disputed the report, saying 5G would not pose a risk to air transport.
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