  The impact of 5G networks transmitting between 24.25- 27.5 GHz on Earth
Exploration Satellite Services (EESS) microwave sounders used to measure
atmospheric water vapor and temperature was widely discussed and modeled in
preparation for setting emission recommendations by International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) at the 2019 World Radio Congress (WRC-19). Since
then, two new classes of network devices - 5G repeaters and high transmission
power User Equipment (UE) for fixed wireless services - have been introduced
and deployed in 28 GHz networks with expectations that they will also be
deployed at 24 GHz. This paper discusses the (potentially significant) increase
in interference from these new components along with open questions related to
their regulatory status. While this paper discusses increases in interference
to 23.8 GHz EESS measurements from 5G transmissions in the "24 GHz" band, it is
important to recognize that repeaters and high power UEs need to be considered
when modeling interference from 5G/6G networks in all bands. This paper also
touches on whether the current ITU process and methodology to regulate
interference with passive sensors (vendor applied hardware-based filtering
based on long-term network forecasts and worst-case Monte Carlo modeling) can
keep up with rapidly changing wireless technology and the increased competition
for spectrum.
