Telecoms have said this would impact the value of the 5G frequencies
By Ahmad Hathout
Innovation Canada said last week it will stick with its proposal to place restrictions on the use of the 3.5 GHz spectrum in areas surrounding 26 major airports, which some of Canada’s telecoms want to deploy 5G wireless networks.
The exclusion areas are intended to prevent interference with aircraft altimeters, which use radio signals to guide the airplane to the runway.
The large telecoms, including Bell, Rogers and Telus, said Innovation Canada did not indicate before the 3.5 GHz auction in June that the department would prevent these zones surrounding the airports from having outdoor base stations that use the radio waves.
ISED, which proposed the restrictions in an August consultation document, initially said providers can still use the frequency band by utilizing base stations that reside outside the exclusion zones and said indoor use of the radio waves is still permitted in airports.
The department repeated that justification in Monday’s decision, reasoning that providers would be able to provide a “range of services and deployments, such as indoor networks for clients, serving verticals in indoor industrial areas around airports, and providing covering inside airport terminals.” It added that most airport foot traffic occurs inside “where most high-speed data use would occur.
“Thus, ISED is of the view that the proposed exclusion zones should not significantly impede the majority of the deployment scenarios” in the band. The department added it has yet to complete its domestic and international studies on the interference concerns.
In an emailed statement, Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said the company is “disappointed with ISED’s decision to impose restrictions on the use of 3500MHz spectrum around large Canadian airports. The real-world experience in other countries, where more than 100,000 5G base stations have been deployed for a number of years, does not support the need for restrictions. We will continue to work with the industry and the government as more research becomes available.”
In its original submission to ISED, Bell said the restrictions devalue the radio waves, which telecoms spent a record $8.9 billion on this summer. The Montreal-based telecom said the restrictions would impact business customers in office towers, residential customers in high rise multiple-dwelling units, and businesses and residences located on mountains. Bell even suggested if these restrictions remain in place, the spectrum should be discounted; or, if it is later removed, the telecoms should only pay for half of the cost and the rest when the restrictions are revoked.
The company argued the department already had reservations about interference issues with the 3.8 GHz spectrum band before the 3.5 GHz auction, but did not restrict the former frequencies even though the 3.8 GHz radio waves are closer to radio altimeters used at airports, which operate in the 4.2 to 4.4 GHz band.
Samer Bishay, head of Iristel, which was awarded 3.5 GHz licenses, said in a statement the restrictions “will definitely hinder some of our coverage areas close to airports,” including in the three territories and parts of Newfoundland and Labrador. “A lot of those communities rely heavily on airports as a primary artery for supplies and we won’t be able to provide full 5G coverage until the issue is resolved,” he added.
However, Bishay said the restrictions won’t hinder the company’s deployment plans because the base stations can be tilted later. ISED, in its decision, put in place a “down-tilt” requirement for 5G base stations, meaning radio waves will be projected from top-down rather than down-up to mitigate any interference issues. Bell and Telus said a nationwide down-tilt requirement would hinder deployment scenarios where it would need to beam radio waves to higher elevation structures, like office towers and customers in high-rise units.
Telus did not respond to a request for comment. A Rogers spokesperson said the company is delayed in a response due to the CRTC hearing on the proposed purchase of Shaw Communications. SaskTel and Xplornet also said the restrictions would have a significant negative impact on 5G deployments in Canada.
The Coalition of aviation and aerospace stakeholders, the Department of National Defence and Transport Canada all supported the restrictions.
The interference issues are in part based on international studies ISED has done and is continuing to do, including in Japan and France, where a similar restrictive framework is in place. ISED also said it will not put in a sunset date on the restrictions, as Telus requested, because its domestic and international studies are not completed.
Similarly, there is a push and pull in the United States regarding potential interference issues between altimeters and the C-band spectrum – more radio waves for 5G. The Federal Aviation Administration has raised concern about safety issues related to interference from the spectrum, and two House Democrats urged the Federal Communications Commission to ensure no potential air safety risks exist. Verizon and AT&T have agreed to delay 5G expansion using the C-band to make way for an FAA assessment.
