Beating China to 5G is Critical to US Security
Controlling the airwaves and cyberspace are critical to our nation’s economic and national security. China is moving aggressively to win the global race to 5G, or fifth generation wireless, because 5G will be the network platform that will connect just about everything in the Internet of Things world.
U.S. wireless providers are making tremendous progress in the deployment of 5G network technology, but their efforts are being jeopardized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which is basing its opposition on a dubious report that questions the safety of operating 5G in spectrum, known as C-Band, also used by aircraft altimeters — devices that measure the distance between an aircraft and the ground. Sadly, this internal and frankly quite surprising last-minute protest to block 5G deployments would be a boon to China. It is essential that the FAA take another look at this issue and the science that make it clear that 5G will not impair air safety.
During several years of controlled, exhaustive testing in advance of 5G fielding, questions on interference were asked and answered. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – the expert technical agency on spectrum use and interference — has studied the ability of 5G operated in the C-Band to coexist safely with aviation. As a result of this testing and research, which incorporated input from the aviation industry and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), they adopted technical rules that provide for 220 megahertz or more separation between spectrum bands used by 5G and aeronautical services. In other words, the risk of accidental or intentional efforts to interfere within the spectrum have been mitigated.
The FCC’s ruling, as proved by real world experience, meets and exceeds standards required to safeguard altimeter performance. For example, Japan has already deployed about 90,000 5G base stations using a less robust 100-megahertz separation of the altimeter C-Band and experienced zero recorded altimeter interference. Since 2018, 5G has operated in a dozen European nations, including Finland, Switzerland, Italy and Spain, without recording any altimeter interference.
Surprisingly, the FAA has chosen to ignore this compelling evidence. Instead, they are basing their contentions on a single study that, even under casual examination, exhibits serious flaws. It uses selected performance results from just a few altimeter models of unknown age and design, making it impossible to assess the validity of the data. The scenarios and criteria employed are excessive and unrealistic. Under the study’s overreaching testing criteria, properly functioning altimeters operating to manufacturer specs could fail — even in the absence of C-Band 5G.
To be clear, C-Band is a critical piece of spectrum for 5G deployments as its frequencies are essential to carrying high amounts of data long distances to maximize 5G in the U.S. Preventing wireless providers from using that block of spectrum would make it impossible for them to operate a full-scale 5G infrastructure, impairing their ability to fully exploit 5G’s benefits and fortify the network against real world security threats.
This is an issue of national security and American global influence. China, which imposes far fewer restrictions on wireless providers than we do, is already much closer than we are to operating 5G at scale. Imposing an arbitrary delay on U.S. wireless companies at this stage of deployment because of baseless fears of interference would compromise national security and allow the Chinese to dominate in 5G operation expertise, just as they have sought to dominate in semiconductors and other critical component manufacturing. If America cannot resolve this internal 5G challenge, 5G deployment is at risk.
Of course, it’s also an economic issue. Not only is 5G essential to U.S. economic growth and job creation in an increasingly high-tech world, but spectrum auctions also generate significant income for the federal government. Wireless providers recently spent $80 billion to acquire rights to C-Band spectrum. If those rights are taken away from them, there will be little enthusiasm to put their capital at risk in future auctions. At a time when Congress is scrambling to come up with the money to fund their spending proposals, it would be foolish to diminish the significant value of spectrum space.
The FAA’s claims of 5G interference in the operation of radio altimeters are exaggerated and not supported by the facts. C-Band 5G and aviation operations can and do co-exist safely, and have done so for years. The FAA should let the considerably more knowledgeable and capable FCC handle this and stop resisting our nation’s high-tech future.
James “Spider” Marks is a retired U.S. Army major general.
