Airlines Safety and 5 G Telecoms

The new 5G technology could interfere with sensitive navigation equipment such as altimeters, warned recently by the US Federal Aviation Administration and this may cause “catastrophic disruptions.” Due to the rollout of 5G by the telecom companies near American airports, Airlines across the world including India are adjusting their scheduled flights to the US.

The higher frequency in the spectrum enables the faster service. The operators want to operate at higher frequencies in order to get full value from 5G. Some of the C band spectrum auctioned had been used for satellite radio. C band is a radio frequency band between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz.

5G Network Technology

About

  • The transition to 5G means there would be much more traffic.
  • A significant number of aircraft could be rendered unusable by the new C band 5G service causing chaos for US flights.
  • In early 2021, the US auctioned mid-range 5G bandwidth to mobile phone companies in the C band for about USD 80 billion.
  • The Federal Aviation Administration warned that the functioning of Altimeters may get hampered as they sit too close to the frequency of C range.
  • Altimeters measure how far above the ground an aero plane is travelling, operating in the 4.2 - 4.4 GHz range.
  • Altimeters are also useful in detecting dangerous currents called wind shear and the readouts help in facilitating automated landings.
  • The companies have argued that C band and 5G has been deployed in about 40 other countries without aviation interference issues.
  • To reduce interference risks, the companies have agreed to buffer zones around 50 airports in the US.

Solutions

  • The companies in the short-term agreed to temporarily defer turning on some wireless towers near key airports to avert significant disruption to US flights.
  • To perform low-visibility landings at many airports in the longer term, the FAA needs to clear and allow most of the US commercial aero plane fleet where 5G C-band would be deployed.

5G Technology

  • It is the 5th generation mobile network.
  • After 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G networks, it is the new global wireless standard.
  • A new kind of network that has been designed to connect virtually everything together including objects, machines, and devices.
  • While the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1Gbps, internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20Gbps.
  • Satcom Industry Association in India has raised concerns over the Government՚s plan to include the Millimeter Wave (mm Wave) bands in the auction of 5G spectrum.

Examrace Team at Jun 29, 2022