The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it has now cleared 62% of the U.S. commercial airplane fleet to perform low-visibility landings at airports where wireless companies deployed 5G C-band. The FAA early Wednesday cleared another three altimeters.
Airplane models with one of the five cleared altimeters include some Boeing 717, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, MD-10/-11 and Airbus A300, A310, A319, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 models.
The FAA claimed that it has made progress during the two week delay in 5G deployment, saying it has accomplished the following over the past two weeks:
- Received vital 5G transmitter location and power level information from the wireless companies
- Facilitated data sharing between avionics manufacturers and wireless companies
- Worked with airlines to help manage and minimize potential delays and cancellations in affected areas.
- Determined that some GPS-guided approaches may be used at certain airports
- Educated aviation stakeholders about what they can expect when 5G C-band is deployed on Jan. 19
- Worked with airlines on how they can demonstrate altimeters are safe and reliable in the 5G C-band environment. This is known as the Alternative Method of Compliance (AMOC) process.
The FAA is also pushing back on the notion that the experience of other countries, notably France and Japan, in operating 5G in midband spectrum is applicable to the United States. The FAA argues that deployments of 5G technology in other countries often involve different conditions than those proposed for the U.S., including:
- Lower power levels
- Antennas tilted downward to reduce potential interference to flights
- Different placement of antennas relative to airfields
- Frequencies with a different proximity to frequencies used by aviation equipment
- The early stages of the 5G deployment in the U.S. will include mitigations that are partly similar to those used to help protect air travel in France. However, even these proposals have some significant differences.
