5G and Aviation

Friends, you must have read a news item about Air India canceling certain flights to the USA because of  5G operations being launched in certain cities there. There are so many other Airlines who are also doing the same. Now the question comes to everyone’s mind why the 5G operations of smartphones are going to affect flight operations.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the USA, as per their statement 5G services are being launched in the USA using frequencies in radio spectrum called C-band. These frequencies can be close to those used by radar altimeters, an important piece of safety equipment in aircraft. To make sure this does not lead to hazardous interference, the FAA requires the radar altimeters are accurate and reliable.

Because the proposed 5G deployment involves a new combination of power levels, frequencies, proximity to flight operations, and other factors, the FAA will need to impose restrictions on flight operations using certain types of radar altimeter equipment close to antennas in 5G networks.

These safety restrictions could affect flight schedules and operations, affecting the aviation system. Before and after the 5G deployment begins, the FAA will continue to work every day to reduce the effects of this disruption as we make progress to safely integrate 5G and aviation. Approved radio altimeters will allow commercial aircraft to continue low visibility landings in the 5G C-band deployment areas.

Models with one of five cleared altimeters include

• Boeing 717, 737, 747, 757, 767, and 777
• MD-10/-11
• Airbus A300, A310, A319, A320, A321 and A330

FAA before the launch of 5G services, ensured that

•  Received vital 5G transmitter location and power level information from the wireless companies.
• Facilitated data sharing between avionics manufacturers and wireless companies
• Worked with airlines to help manage and minimize potential delays and cancellations in affected areas.
• Determined that some GPS-guided approaches may be used at certain airports
• Educated aviation stakeholders about what they can expect when 5G C-band is deployed on 19^th January
• Worked with airlines on how they can demonstrate altimeters are safe and reliable in certain 5G C-band environments. This is known as the Alternative Method of Compliance (AMOC) process.

• Another fact is that 5G is already being deployed in other countries, such as France and Japan, with no issues. Why would the USA be different?

As per FAA, the USA airspace is the most complex in the world and their aviation sector is of the highest safety standards. Deployments of 5G technology in other countries often involve different conditions than those proposed in the USA,

• Lower power levels

• Antennas tilted downward to reduce potential interference to flights
• Different placement of antennas relative to airfields
• Frequencies with  different proximity to frequencies used by aviation equipment
• The early stages of the 5G deployment in the USA will include mitigations that are partly similar to those used to help protect air travel in France. However, even these proposals have some significant differences.
• Planned buffer zones for USA airports only protect the last 20 seconds of flight, compared to a greater range in the French environment.
• 5G power levels are lower in France. In the USA, even the planned temporary nationwide lower power levels will be 2.5 times higher than in France.
• In France, the govt required that the antenna must be tilted downward to limit harmful interference.

Above, I have mentioned radio altimeters. The altimeter provides highly accurate information about an aircraft’s height above the ground. Data from these radio altimeters informs other safety equipment on the plane, including navigation instruments, terrain awareness, and collision-avoidance systems.

The FAA, the aviation industry, telecommunications companies, and their regulators, have been discussing and weighing these interference concerns for years, in the USA and internationally. Recent dialogue has helped to establish information sharing between aviation and telecommunications sectors and newly agreed measures to reduce the risk of disruption, but these issues are ongoing and will not be resolved overnight.

So it looks like it is going to still take more time to resolve the flight operation problems between India and various cities in the USA.

Waiting for your views on this blog.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

20^th January 2022