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Global 5G wireless networks threaten weather forecasts
Nature ^ | 26 April 2019 | Alexandra Witze

Posted on 04/28/2019 9:13:04 AM PDT by BenLurkin

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA are currently locked in a high-stakes negotiation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees US wireless networks. NOAA and NASA have asked the FCC to work with them to protect frequencies used for Earth observations from interference as 5G rolls out. But the FCC auctioned off the first chunk of the 5G spectrum with minimal protection. The sale ended on 17 April and reaped nearly US$2 billion.

Because the United States is such a large communications market, the decisions the government makes about how to deploy 5G are likely to influence global discussions on how to regulate the technology. Regulators from around the world will gather starting on 28 October in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to hammer out international agreements for which frequencies companies will be able to use for 5G transmissions, and what level of interference with Earth-observation frequencies is acceptable.

Astronomers, meteorologists and other scientists have long worked to share the spectrum with other users, sometimes shifting to different frequencies to prevent conflicts. But “this is the first time we’ve seen a threat to what I’d call the crown jewels of our frequencies — the ones that we absolutely must defend come what may”, says Stephen English, a meteorologist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, UK.

They include the 23.8-gigahertz frequency, at which water vapour in the atmosphere emits a faint signal. Satellites, such as the European MetOp probes, monitor energy radiating from Earth at this frequency to assess humidity in the atmosphere below — measurements that can be taken during the day or at night, even if clouds are present. Forecasters feed these data into models to predict how storms and other weather systems will develop in the coming hours and days.

(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Science; Weather
KEYWORDS: forecasts; global5g; weather; wirelessnetworks

1 posted on 04/28/2019 9:13:04 AM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

wouldn’t want wether forecasts to be wrong


2 posted on 04/28/2019 9:14:58 AM PDT by morphing libertarian ( Use Comey's Report; Indict Hillary now; build Kate's wall. --- Proud Smelly Walmart Deplorable)
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To: morphing libertarian

Blame it on global warming.


3 posted on 04/28/2019 9:28:32 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (Schumer delenda est.)
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To: BenLurkin

AT&T solved this by renaming their existing 4g now 5GE. Which is just 4g. No harm to the environment, yet you think it is better and pay more for the same thing.


4 posted on 04/28/2019 9:39:51 AM PDT by Aut Pax Aut Bellum (After Trump-then what?)
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To: Aut Pax Aut Bellum

AT&T solved this by renaming their existing 4g now 5GE. Which is just 4g. No harm to the environment, yet you think it is better and pay more for the same thing.
******************************************
Perhaps Verizon will rename their existing 4g service....6GE?


5 posted on 04/28/2019 10:33:58 AM PDT by House Atreides (Boycott the NFL 100% — PERMANENTLY)
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