Up to aviation industry to protect airports from 5G interference, telecoms say

The airline industry must do more to protect its flights from 5G interference, telecoms have told the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). The department is taking submissions from interested stakeholders on the topic. BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Mobility warned of disinformation affecting the debate. “The issue of coexistence of radio altimeters with 5G in Canada has been handled in a manner that has created widespread uncertainty and led to decisions driven by unsubstantiated fears rather than facts and practical experience,” the company wrote. The airline industry is using altimeters that rely on outdated filtering techniques, it added, with extremely poor sensitivity. Bell believes the aviation industry should be mandated to update its technology as quickly as possible. The wireless sector has been improving its technology for years, the wireless carrier countered. “We continue to believe that no mitigation measures are necessary for 5G deployments below 3900 MHz,” the telecom said. All mitigation measures in the 3500 MHz band should be removed as they are unnecessary and there is no similar restriction in the United States. Several American airline companies have already written to regulatory authorities in that country regarding the use of 5G near airports. In its submission, CanWISP called on ISED to extend the definition of the 3800 MHz band to include spectrum in the 3650-3980 MHz range. “Many wireless internet service providers (WISPs) depend on the 3650-3700 MHz band to provide rural households and businesses with broadband connectivity,” executive director Jonathan Black stated. “These WISPs are expected to transition their networks to the 3900-3980 MHz band when they are displaced from the 3650-3700 MHz band in 2025 and 2027.” Rogers Communications Inc. filed a lengthy application which repeated Bell’s call for the aviation industry to step up and do its part. It also calls for the lifting of restrictions on lower band zones. “Telecommunications operators–and their customers–should not be financially penalized for the aviation industry’s continued use of out-dated and insufficiently-designed equipment,” the Toronto firm wrote. It disagrees with a proposal from Transport Canada that mitigation measures should be extended until all retrofits are done by the airline sector. The Americans are not planning to extend their deadline, the company noted. “The fact that the Coalition of Aviation and Aerospace Stakeholders (Aviation Coalition) has requested a removal of any specific sunset date or, at a minimum, an extension of seven years, a timeline they inexplicably call ‘still aggressive’, shows that the aviation industry is simply operating on poor faith,” Rogers stated. Telesat Corp. filed as a member of the fixed-satellite service (FSS) sector. It believes some analysis has been wrong in adopting Federal Communications Commission numbers in determining the allocation of spectrum. “The FSS community supports a PFD approach if it offers adequate protection to FSS earth stations, but otherwise a fixed distance (as originally proposed by the department) is also acceptable,” the company said. Mitigation measures should be short-lived and geographically focused, Telus Corp. said in its submission. It too called for the aviation sector to do its part in improving the situation. “This temporary policy cannot become a lengthy ‘band-aid’ solution,” the western telecom stated. It agreed with Rogers that the deadline should not be extended. It similarly believes that timelines should be coordinated with the American deadlines to facilitate cross-border travel. Like other players, Telus is calling on the 3500 and 3800 MHz bands to be exempt from regulation. Transport Canada initially selected 26 airports to be covered by the proposed rules, later increased to 34. The Aviation Stakeholders heralded this as a “good start”. As noted above, it called for the delay of implementation of the rules until all retrofits were completed. In its brief, Transport Canada warned that ISED imposing a spurious emission environment that is less strict than the American regime could result in a severe operating environment for radio altimeters in this country. The department of national defence (DND) recommended that ISED modify its rules so that non-transitioned FSS stations will avoid interference. It noted that most of these stations are in remote regions with limited 5G rollout. The Canadian Airports Council demanded that all airports be included on the ISED protected list, not just the 26 originally listed and the eight subsequently added. The Kelowna, B.C. airport sent a letter asking to be included on the protected list. The National Airlines Council of Canada joined in the call for universal inclusion in the national list. “To put it bluntly, if we further negatively impact the overall air travel system, Canada could lose its appeal as a place to fly to, both for business and travel,” the council said. “More importantly, it is a safety matter.” De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. also called on the expansion of the list. Many of its planes are used in smaller airports outside the exclusion zone and are used by air carriers other than airlines. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@wirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca

Up to aviation industry to protect airports from 5G interference, telecoms say

News | June 12, 2023

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Up to aviation industry to protect airports from 5G interference, telecoms say

News | June 12, 2023

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

ISED auctioning off 225 leftover spectrum licences

High spectrum costs are the villain in cellular prices, Big 3 tell INDU

ISED issues regulations on airport 5G interference

3500 auction should result in “careful consideration” by gov: Bell’s Bibic

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us