After the U.S. military warned about 5G rollout two years ago, airlines began to address concerns about airspace interference. The situation has changed, but the problem is not yet fully resolved.
A deadline set by the FAA
5G continues to develop in various areas of the world, particularly in the United States. In 2021, the army as well as many authorities and organizations had mentioned the frequencies that the country has chosen for the operation of these new networks. As a result, the Federal Civil Aviation Administration (FAA) decided to give airlines some time to end the interference between 5G and airplanes. Thus, the devices will have to – by February 1, 2024 – go through a revision stage with the aim of making them insensitive to the frequencies that the country uses. However, there is talk of an upgrade concerning all the same one in eight aircraft in the USA.
In a document (PDF in English / 28 pages) published on January 9, 2023, the FAA indicates that already 7,000 aircraft present in the register have already received the installation of equipment making it possible to “filter” 5G. Nevertheless, there remains another thousand devices to equip.
Simple filters for most aircraft
The FAA mentions a major problem: the radio altimeter, a device used in airplanes at assess their altitude in flight. However, this same device uses radio waves. The landing phase is the most affected flight phase, because the radio altimeter makes it possible to assess the correct trajectory in relation to the runway. Essential therefore, especially in bad weather and/or at night. The FAA estimates that there are 180 aircraft waiting to be replaced. Regarding the remaining 820 devices, anti-5G filters should be sufficient to avoid interference with the on-board instruments. Moreover, these modifications should cost the companies no less than 26 million dollars.
Remember that the frequency of 5G in the United States is very close to that of airplanes. This technology uses a band called “C”, ranging from 3.7 to 3.98 gigahertz (GHz). However, the sector band used by aircraft – mainly for communication – ranges from 4.2 to 4.4 GHz. In other words, only 200 MHz separates the two frequencies.
Finally, let us mention the fact that in France, this problem does not exist or very little. Indeed, the difference between the two frequencies is 400 MHz, therefore greater. Additionally, more precautions exist, such as pointing 5G antennas downward around airports. Thus, air traffic suffers much less disruption relating to the deployment of this technology.
