Aviation Groups, Legislators Ask FCC To Postpone 5G Auction Over Safety Concerns.

On the eve of the auction, United States House Transportation Subcommittee chair Peter DeFazio (D, NY) wrote a letter to the FCC saying, in part, that recent studies show clear threat by new uses of the spectrum being auctioned off, and that the new data "!not only align with earlier research identifying harmful effects of 5G networks to radio altimeters, but they reflect a clear need for the FCC to return to the drawing board with this premature plan." 

More than a dozen aviation groups also made their concerns known, going on record as opposing the sale and calling on the FCC to rethink the auction.

The backstory is this. Emerging telecommunication technologies use a chunk of the spectrum for 5G wireless data, which will be a big part of our future internet and telephone infrastructure. The problem is that the section that the FCC is auctioning off borders on frequencies that are critical to GPS and radar altimetry equipment, which needless to say is safety critical capability for aviation users, you know, pilots. It also affects the passengers, and that's true for a 400-passenger jumbo as much as it is for a vintage four-seater. Because of this, aviation member organizations have been asking for the FCC to at the very least postpone the auction for the C-band.

In calling to delay the sale, the aviation groups noted, that an RTCA studies "clearly indicate that this risk is widespread and has the potential for broad impacts to aviation operations in the United States, including the possibility of catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities, in the absence of appropriate mitigations."

We'll update the story when the auction has ended and the winner has announced its plans for using what will surely be a phenomenally expensive slice of the radiofrequency pie.