Do 5G Telecom Roll Outs Pose Threat To Airline Safety? An Explainer

In early 2021, the United States auctioned mid-range 5G bandwidth to mobile phone companies AT&T and Verizon in the 3.7-3.98 GHz range on the spectrum known as C band, at a cost of about USD 80 billion.

Washington: Earlier this week, several major passenger and cargo airlines in the United States have warned of a “catastrophic” aviation crisis that could ground many planes if the major telecom companies AT&T and Verizon deployed the new 5G Service. As per a Reuters report, said the new C band 5G service set to begin on Wednesday could render a significant number of aircraft unusable, causing chaos for US flights and potentially stranding tens of thousands of Americans overseas.

What Happened?

In early 2021, the United States auctioned mid-range 5G bandwidth to mobile phone companies AT&T and Verizon in the 3.7-3.98 GHz range on the spectrum known as C band, at a cost of about USD 80 billion.

What is the Problem?

According to Reuter’s report, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that the new 5G technology could interfere with instruments of the aircraft, such as altimeters, which measure how far above the ground an aeroplane is travelling. Reportedly, the altimeters operate in the 4.2-4.4 GHz range and the concern is that the auctioned frequencies sit too close to this range.

Apart from altitude, altimeter readouts are also used to facilitate automated landings and to help detect dangerous currents called wind shear. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby last month said the FAA’s 5G directives would bar the use of radio altimeters at about 40 of the biggest US airports.

The airlines in United States have warned the directives could disrupt up to 4 per cent of daily flights. As per Kirby, if left unresolved , it could mean that at major airports in United States in the event of bad weather, cloud cover or even heavy smog “you could only do visual approaches essentially.”

What difference Does Frequecy Make?

To get full value from 5G, operators, repotedly, want to operate at higher frequencies becasuse, the higher the frequency in the spectrum, the faster the service. Some of the C band spectrum auctioned had been used for satellite radio but the transition to 5G means there will be much more traffic, according to Reuters’ report.

What are telecom companises saying?

Verizon and AT&T have argued that C band 5G has been deployed in about 40 other countries without aviation interference issues. The companises have agreed to buffer zones around 50 airports in the United States, similar to those used in France, for six months to reduce interference risks.

Why is 5G roll out not an issue elseware?

The European Union in 2019 had set standards for mid-range 5G frequencies in a 3.4-3.8 GHz range, a lower frequency than the service set to be rolled out in the United States. According to the report, the  bandwidth has been auctioned in Europe and is in use in many of the bloc’s 27 member states so far without issue.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which oversees 31 states, said on December 17 the issue was specific to US airspace. “At this stage, no risk of unsafe interference has been identified in Europe,” it said, according to Reuters.

FAA officials have noted the spectrum used by France (3.6-3.8 GHz) sits further away from the spectrum (4.2-4.4 GHz) used for altimeters in the United States and France’s power level for 5G is much lower than what is authorized in the United States. Verizon has said it will not use a spectrum that is closer to the higher band for several years.

In South Korea, the 5G mobile communication frequency is 3.42-3.7 GHz band and there has been no report of interference with radio waves since the commercialization of 5G in April 2019. Currently, 5G mobile communication wireless stations are in operation near airports, but there have been no reports of problems.

“Wireless carriers in nearly 40 countries throughout Europe and Asia now use the C band for 5G, with no reported effects on radio altimeters that operate in the same internationally designated 4.2-4.4 GHz band,” CTIA, a U. wireless trade group, said in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission.

How can the issue be fixed?

In the short term, AT&T and Verizon agreed to temporarily defer turning on some wireless towers near key airports to avert significant disruption to US flights. For longer-term solution, the FAA needs to clear and allow the vast majority of the US commercial aeroplane fleet to perform low-visibility landings at many airports where 5G C-band will be deployed. This means certifying altimeters to operate near 5G base stations.