Re: Why not use 4G/5G?
^^^ This. (Although there is some consideration for satellite downlinks as well) It's all about being able to sense the presence of water vapour in the air.
The EU has already set limits for how much a 5G transmitter can leak into the 23.6-24GHz band that is used by weather sats, of -42 dB*. Last I heard, the FCC was proposing limits of about -30dB, which is quite a lot less limiting, and definitely has the potential to fuck up weather forecasting.
* The precise restrictions are: "−42 dBW/200 MHz for 5G Base Stations and −38 dBW/200MHz for 5G User Equipment" taken from section 5.4 here.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
