Today, a group of 15 aviation associations sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing concern over frequency spectrum relocation affecting radar altimeters, a critical flight safety tool. The group requested that the FCC suspend Auction 107, scheduled to begin Dec. 8, which offers new flexible\u00e2\u0080\u0090use overlay licenses for spectrum in the 3.7\u20133.98 GHz band, in order to resolve likely interference issues with radar altimeters prior to the auction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince 2017, the aviation industry has consistently noted\nduring the Federal Communications Commission rulemaking process that deployment\nof 5G networks in this frequency band may introduce harmful radio frequency\ninterference to radar altimeters currently operating in the globally-allocated\n4.2\u20134.4 GHz aeronautical band,\u201d the group wrote. \u201cRadar altimeters are deployed\non tens of thousands of civil aircraft in the United States and worldwide to\nsupport several critical safety-of-life aircraft functions throughout multiple\nphases of flight. Radar altimeters are the only sensor onboard a civil aircraft\nwhich provides a direct measurement of the clearance height of the aircraft\nover the terrain or other obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n