5G Technology: Does 5G Create A Serious Threat to Aviation Safety?

By- Shivam Verma

The CEOs of the major cargo airlines and U.S passengers raised a concern regarding destructive airlines crises as AT&T and Verizon to establish new 5G services. Chief Executives said that the new C Band and 5G services are ready to begin on Wednesday and can interfere in the safety of U.S flights by creating chaos.

What exactly happened?

The United States auctioned the 5G Bandwidth with mid-range to telecom companies for about $80 billion in early 2021 in the range of 3.7-3.98 GHz on the spectrum which is known as C Band.

5G interferes with the U.S aviation safety

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned regarding the new 5G frequency, saying it could interfere with the instruments like ‘Altimeter’ which is responsible for measuring how far above an aircraft is traveling from the ground. The altimeter can be operating in the range of 4.2-4.4 GHz and the auctioned 5G frequencies are quite too close to this range. The 5G frequency could disrupt the aircraft instruments including the altimeter which is used to navigate dangerous threats and provide safety data.

Along with the measurement, altimeters readings are also used to clear the way for automated landings and help to detect dangerous currents called wind shear.

The CEO of United Airlines Scott Kirby said last month that the FAA's 5G directives will set barricades for the use of radio altimeters at about 40 of the United States' biggest airports.

The U.S airlines have warned regarding the FAA's 5G instruction that it could disrupt up to 4% of daily flights.

Scott Kirby said that, if left unsettled then it could mean that at U.S major airports, in the event of bad weather, heavy smog, or cloud cover, “you could only do visual approaches essentially”.

What are the impacts of 5G frequency?

To make complete use of this frequency, operators want to set it at higher frequencies. It means, the higher the frequency in the spectrum, the faster the service you get.

A majority of the C Band spectrum was auctioned for the use of satellite radio but the 5G transition means there will be more traffic than usual.

Telecoms companies’ response to this concern

Verizon and AT&T have declared that the C Band and 5G technology has been established in other 40 major countries without any interference issues with airlines.

Both have agreed to the buffer zones around 50 United States airports same as those which were used for six months in France to reduce the aviation interference risks.

They have also begun identifying the altimeter which can be used safely around the area where 5G has been established and those which are not compatible with the requirements will need to be replaced.

In addition to this, they have already identified some airports where GPS systems can be used to give signals of approaching aircraft rather than the radio altimeter.

The aviation department demands the authorities that this is not enough as they claim that 5G should not be deployed at all within two miles of airports.

What is the situation in the UK?

In December, a safety notice was published in which the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) mentioned that "there have been no confirmed instances where 5G interference has resulted in aircraft system malfunction or unexpected behavior".

It also highlighted that "different national mobile telecommunication strategies may mean that some [countries] have a higher threat exposure than others".

The UK regulator says to collect further information on this concern it plans to work internationally.

Like and Follow us on: Twitter . Facebook . Instagram . YouTube