A group representing major US passenger and cargo carriers will tell US senators on Thursday that permanently addressing aviation interference issues caused by the introduction of 5G wireless in the C-band will take "years."
Airlines for America CEO Nick will testify in writing before a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee that the 5G difficulties affecting the aviation industry should have been avoided.
"The process that led to this operational nightmare should be held up as a cautionary tale of government communication and collaboration gone bad," he adds in his testimony, which Reuters read but has not yet been made public.
The group represents American Airlines, United Airlines, FedEx, and other big carriers, adds, "It will likely take years, not days or weeks, to fully and permanently alleviate the interference difficulties created by deployment of 5G in the C-band."
After the aviation industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that 5G interference could affect important plane electronics like radio altimeters, Verizon and AT&T agreed in January to postpone the deployment of some 5G wireless towers near airports.
Last week, the FAA said that it has cleared 20 altimeter types and given approval to 90 percent of the US commercial fleet to land in low-visibility approaches in C-Band 5G zones. However, some flights, particularly regional jets, have been disrupted by 5G in bad weather.
President of the Aerospace Industries Association, Eric Fanning, will tell legislators that progress is being made, but the problem is not yet solved.
"There are disruptions in our future, even with additional compromise and collaboration," his testimony continues, "with many open topics still on the table."
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, cellular industry CEO Meredith Attwell Baker, and others will testify during the session.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was invited to testify but was unable to do so, according to a committee spokesman. The FCC did not respond right away.
Baker will tell legislators that the wireless industry "remains optimistic" that 5G will not air traffic safety.
President of the Air Line Pilots Association, Joe, says the FCC's support for the telecom industry is important.
The FAA approved more types of planes, including the Boeing 777, to land in low visibility near 5G signals on Wednesday. However, by the evening, approximately 40% of the US airline fleet had yet to be cleared. As the FAA examined more planes and altimeters, the percentage was expected to decrease.
"I assume whatever procedure they're employing could be utilized to remove the rest," said Randall Berry, a Northwestern University professor of electrical engineering.
Poor coordination and cooperation among government agencies, according to some experts, is as much to blame as any technical flaws.
"The conflicts from federal agencies around this have really gotten more and more severe," Harold, a telecom policy expert at the advocacy organization Public Knowledge, said.
According to the FAA, there are various reasons why the 5G deployment has been more difficult in the United States than in other countries: Cellular towers have a stronger signal than those elsewhere, and the 5G network uses a frequency that is closer to that of the 4G network.
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