House panel to examine what went wrong with the 5G rollout

House panel to examine what went wrong with the 5G rollout

Transcript¹

A congressional hearing examines why the activation² of 5G service near airports was plagued by many delays and much confusion.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Ahead of the rollout of 5G wireless³ service, it sounded like mass chaos⁴ was about to break out. The FAA warned that 5G signals could interfere⁵ with critical safety systems, and airlines warned of catastrophic flight delays and cancellations. When it came down to it, there weren't actually many disruptions. But as NPR's David Schaper reports, a congressional hearing today will investigate what happened.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE⁶: On a call with analysts⁷ and reporters last week, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker gave this blunt assessment⁸ of how a clash between the FAA and telecom companies over the rollout of 5G nearly grounded thousands of commercial airline flights.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SCHAPER: It wasn't our finest hour, I think, as a country.

SCHAPER: Parker says at least now, all of the parties are talking to one another to solve the problem. But he and others say this 5G debacle could have been avoided. Robert W. Mann is a former airline executive and now an industry consultant⁹.

ROBERT W MANN: It's an odd thing. I don't know how we got here. This potential for interference was well-known.

SCHAPER: For years, the aviation industry has been raising concerns about cellphone companies using a segment of the radio spectrum¹⁰ to transmit powerful 5G wireless signals to our smartphones and other devices because it is so close to the frequencies used by radio altimeters, which measure how high aircraft are above the ground. But Mann says Verizon and AT&T paid close to $70 billion for this C-band spectrum and are eager to cash in.

MANN: We're kind of at the position of, you know, wretched excess capitalism¹¹ versus¹² aviation safety. The telecom companies and the airlines are essentially¹³ caught up in a squabble between two federal agencies, the FCC, which oversees¹⁴ the airwaves, and the FAA, safety regulator of the airways¹⁵.

DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH: It was basically a game of brinksmanship.

SCHAPER: Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former top transportation department official in the Trump¹⁶ administration who oversaw¹⁷ research into 5G and other new technologies, says the safety concerns were well-documented.

FURCHTGOTT-ROTH: So the FCC was very much aware of them, but the FCC has a pattern of not listening to DOT safety concerns.

SCHAPER: So in December of 2020, Furchtgott-Roth says her office and the FAA sent a formal letter objecting to the C-band spectrum auction¹⁸ to another federal agency called the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA.

FURCHTGOTT-ROTH: NTIA did not choose to pass it on.

SCHAPER: Furchtgott-Roth suggests her fellow Trump administration appointees at the FCC and Commerce Department were more interested in pleasing the telecom industry and bringing in tens of billions of dollars to the federal Treasury¹⁹ with the 5G auction.

FURCHTGOTT-ROTH: You need to follow the money.

SCHAPER: Former FCC and NTIA officials dispute that and say their experts determined²⁰ the FAA safety concerns were unfounded. Diane Rinaldo headed the NTIA through 2019 and is now with a wireless technology industry group.

DIANE RINALDO: The FCC did testing to ensure that there was no interference, specifically with altimeters. So the i's were dotted, the t's were crossed before any last rollout of 5G occurred.

SCHAPER: Rinaldo faults the FAA for filing its objections to the 5G rollout late and for not doing its own testing of altimeters to determine which ones may be susceptible²¹ to 5G interference until recently.

RINALDO: What is being done over the past couple of weeks should have been done a year ago.

SCHAPER: Congressman²² Peter DeFazio, who will chair today's hearing, sharply criticizes the FCC for overriding²³ the FAA's safety concerns. And he calls the interagency process for auctioning²⁴ off spectrum completely broken.

David Schaper, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 activation   

n. 激活，催化作用

参考例句：

• A computer controls the activation of an air bag.电脑控制着气囊的启动。

3 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

10 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

11 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

12 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

15 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

18 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

19 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

22 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

23 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

24 auctioning   

v.拍卖( auction的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Army is auctioning off a lot of old equipment. 军队正在把大量旧装备拍卖掉。 来自辞典例句
• So she's auctioning off a chance to go to an awards dinner? 那么她在拍卖与她共赴晚宴的机会了？ 来自电影对白