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A U.S. trade group representing major passenger and cargo airlines asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday to halt deployment of new 5G wireless service around many airports, warning thousands of flights could be disrupted.
AT&T and Verizon Communications are set on Jan. 5 to deploy C-Band spectrum 5G wireless service that they won in an $80 billion government auction. The petition from industry group Airlines for America seeks a deployment delay near numerous U.S. airports including ones in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Boston and Seattle.
The aviation industry and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have raised significant concerns that 5G might interfere with sensitive aircraft electronics like radio altimeters, which could delay or divert flights.
“Aircraft will not be able to rely on radio altimeters for numerous flight procedures and thus will not be able to land at
certain airports,” the group said in its emergency FCC petition.
It said wireless interference will “jeopardize the function of critical aircraft safety systems, which in turn threatens to divert or cancel thousands of flights” daily. It said this would disrupt “millions of passenger reservations” along with flight crew schedules and global supply chains.
The petition seeks an FCC decision by noon EST Monday or the group warned it will “seek judicial or other relief” to avoid “immediate and unacceptable safety risks.”
Wireless industry group CTIA said 5G is safe and the spectrum is being used in about 40 other countries.
CTIA said Thursday “the FCC considered and rejected these claims nearly two years ago after an exhaustive review” and the industry still plans a Jan. 5 launch for 5G service.
The FAA declined to comment on the petition. The agency has been preparing to issue notices further detailing impact of potential interference but has delayed release as intensive talks continue between the Biden administration, wireless carriers and the aviation sector.
Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, FedEx and other major carriers, said it wants the FCC and FAA “to work together on a practical solution.” The petition is aimed at preserving legal options if discussions do not result in an agreement.
This month, the group warned interference from 5G networks could cause 4% of U.S. flights to be diverted, delayed or canceled, and the FAA issued airworthiness directives warning 5G interference could result in flight diversions.
Airlines for America has said that if the FAA 5G directive had been in effect in 2019, about 345,000 passenger flights and 5,400 cargo flights would have faced delays, diversions or cancellations impacting 32 million passengers.
“The potential damage to the airline industry alone is staggering,” the petition says.
In November, AT&T and Verizon delayed commercial launch of C-band wireless service by a month until Jan. 5 and adopted precautionary measures to limit interference.
Aviation industry groups said that was insufficient. The aviation industry made a counterproposal that would limit cellular transmissions around airports and other critical areas.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)
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Leaving her elderly father on a basement floor for two days in a soiled adult diaper won’t mean jail for a Calgary woman.
Justice Indra Maharaj accepted a joint Crown and defence submission on Wednesday for a two-year-less-a-day conditional sentence order for Tara Picard to be followed by 12 months of probation.
Prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence counsel Shaun Leochko proposed a community-based term which will include eight months of 24-hour house arrest followed by a nightly curfew for the second eight months.
Maharaj also agreed with the lawyers to order Picard to commit 300 hours of community service over the length of the three-year sentence.
The Calgary Court of Justice noted that amount of community-service hours was “a lot” to commit to.
But Maharaj said it showed Picard, 52, was truly remorseful for her conduct towards her father, whom Postmedia is not identifying because of the embarrassing nature of the facts of the case.
“What that shows me is Ms. Picard does sincerely recognize what has happened here,” the judge said of her willingness to complete community service.
“What I interpret from that is Ms. Picard’s willingness to give back to the community.”
Picard pleaded guilty in January to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life to her 77-year-old father.
Court heard caregivers found the elderly Calgary man on the basement floor of his daughter’s southeast home wearing a soiled adult diaper.
At the time, Picard was responsible for her father’s day-to-day care after he was moved to her residence, Spaner, reading from a statement of agreed facts, told court at the time.
“He had a number of medical ailments, including non-insulin dependent diabetes, coronary artery disease, some early onset dementia-like symptoms and chronic alcoholism,” Spaner said.
“(He) had been living independently in a Calgary apartment building. Family members became concerned that he was not caring for himself safely.”
With the help of Alberta Health Services he was moved to a home where Picard resided.
A registered nurse assigned to his care attended the 38 Street S.E. home on Nov. 15, 2021, to drop off food bank supplies for him and was told he was sleeping downstairs.
When the nurse called about an hour and a half later and spoke to the man on the phone he said he was lying on the floor, had fallen and was unable to get up.
When she returned to the home with a co-worker she found the victim lying on his back on the floor.
“(He) said that he had been lying on the floor for two days,” Spaner said.
Leochko said Picard was overwhelmed by the situation she was thrust into.
“It really was more than she could handle,” he said.
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@juanhall: I gotta say, this was the most interesting bike in this post….love that Intense is experimenting with gearboxes…I can see it have a huge effect on DH bikes….thank god there’s still people pushing things. Now, they need to make an Enduro bike with the Pinion MGU!
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The City of Pointe-Claire would like to inform you that the Bob-Birnie arena will be closed for its annual maintenance as of Monday, April 29. The Annex rink will reopen to the public on Monday, May 13, and the arena’s Main rink will be accessible as of Monday, June 3.
Public skating will resume on May 13, and the summer public activities programming will begin on June 3 when both rinks have reopened to the public.
In addition to the annual maintenance of the facility, two renovation projects are also scheduled to start at the same time:
Installation of new sound systems
The City will be replacing its current sound systems in both the Main rink and Annex rink, to offer arena visitors a better overall experience, whether watching from the stands or participating in on-ice activities. This project is expected to be conducted throughout the month of May.
Renovation of locker rooms in the Main Rink
The City will also be renovating the five locker rooms located in the Main rink, to bring up to date the amenities currently available to participants. These renovations are expected to begin in early May and will be completed by mid-August.
For all information about the Bob-Birnie arena, visit the arena’s page on our website.
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