Rural Communities Need 5G
Rural communities need 5G, the FAA needs to stop hindering their access to it
All Americans deserve access to high-speed broadband service and 5G wireless will play an important role in achieving this national imperative. Unfortunately, an ongoing dispute between two federal agencies could block the deployment of this crucial technology to the very people who need it the most.
Many rural communities across America are on the wrong side of a digital divide that separates them from everything from advanced health care to economic opportunity. Nearly 18 million rural residents across huge swaths of the nation lack access to reliable high-speed broadband.
Expanding rural broadband access is a top priority for the National Grange. We are dedicated advocates of not only funding for rural broadband infrastructure but also the elimination of burdensome regulations that stop projects attempting to bring new technologies like 5G to underserved areas. Unfortunately, just as we are on the cusp of seeing widespread 5G deployment become a reality, two federal agencies are locked in a dispute that could impede connectivity for people and employers in rural and urban areas alike.
The Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) is the expert regulator in the communications space, but recently the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided it would intervene in 5G deployment based off one industry-driven and well-debunked study that contends that deploying 5G wireless in the set of airwaves known as the C-band could interfere with altimeter function, thereby making it less safe for aircraft to fly and land. Altimeters are the devices that measure the distance between an airplane and the ground.
But the FCC, the acknowledged expert in spectrum issues, has studied this issue for several years, with input from aviation stakeholders, and positively concluded that aviation and 5G wireless can safely share this space. There is plenty of evidence to support their position.
Dozens of European countries have deployed 5G safely in the same way, and they haven’t experienced any problems. The FCC has done their homework and spent years developing the rules for using the C-Band and has put in place protective measures that go above and beyond what’s been done internationally to protect against interference issues.
This is not a typical Washington bureaucratic dispute. There’s too much at stake. Six former FCC Chairmen on both sides of the aisle recently wrote a joint letter to current FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and the Commerce Department, noting “the FAA position threatens to derail the reasoned conclusions reached by the
FCC after years of technical analysis and study. We encourage all stakeholders to work together toward a speedy resolution of the issues in this band, and to ensure these surprises do not become a recurring feature of American spectrum management in the future.”
The consequences of obstructing 5G are significant and would impact not rural broadband connectivity but also America’s national security and our ability to compete economically, especially with China. Winning the global race to 5G and staying ahead of China will require close coordination between all levels of government and the private sector. This type of self-serving intervention plays right into China’s stated ambitions to control new technologies.
The National Grange has been standing up for America’s farmers and rural communities for over 150 years. Today, that support includes working to make sure rural residents are not denied access to important cutting-edge technologies like 5G. We urge the FAA to work in good faith with the FCC to ensure all Americans can have access to 21st century connectivity.
