A multi-stakeholder committee has asked aircraft gear makers and manufacturers to conduct a study on the possible interference of 5G signal with a plane’s altimeter and the best possible solutions for it.
The panel, comprising officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has also asked gear makers like Honeywell and Thales, and aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus about required restrictions on signal strength from 5G sites.
Simultaneously, the committee has also asked telecom operators information regarding the power level being radiated by their 5G base transceiver stations (BTS) in the core 5G band of 3300-3670 MHz, which would help the aircraft gear makers in their study, according to three people aware of the matter.
A base transceiver station is an equipment that facilitates communication between user devices and a network.
Also read: Why profit first strategy is key to running a successful business
The development comes after the DoT in November had asked telcos not to operate 5G base stations in the area of 2.1 km from both ends of runways and 910 metres from the centre line of runways.
Further, upon the DGCA’s guidelines, the DoT had asked telcos to limit the radio power of radiation to 58 dBm per MHz at the base stations that are installed 540 metres around the surrounding area of the airport.
“It is not a ban but rather we have said that around airports the signal should not interfere with the runway and operations of aircraft,” telecom secretary K Rajaraman told FE.
“The industry has made certain representations to us. We have forwarded them to the ministry of civil aviation. We are waiting for their response,” he added. Last month, FE had reported that the DoT will conduct a detailed study before allowing telecom operators to provide 5G services around airports.According to sources, the 3300-3670 band for 5G services allotted to telcos in the country will not interfere with the aircraft altimeters but the government wants to be doubly sure considering that even an iota of risk could endanger the lives of passengers.
An aircraft altimeter is an instrument that provides direct height-above-terrain information to various aircraft systems.
One of the reasons for government’s concern is the poor quality of altimeters in the aircrafts as they are of old varieties. Considering the age of these altimeters, it may allow signals to interfere even in the frequency of 3670 MHz, which is far away from 4200 MHz band, not auctioned in the country.
Another challenge with regard to the issue is the availability of enough evidence of interference and the government’s inability to test the 5G interference on the runways as that would again involve risking passengers’ lives, sources said.
“Given the communication with DGCA, it is understood that the government is largely dependent on the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to come up with a solutions on 5G interference with aircrafts,” a source said.
The ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations that sets standards and regulations with regard to international air transport and safety of aviation.
While the studies are going on, experts feel that solution will mostly revolve around reduction in power of radiation from each BTS, which in a way would reduce the coverage of 5G services and therefore to make up for that telcos would have to install more BTS with limited power signals. However, instaling more BTS would lead to additional investments for telcos.
Also read: Number of MSMEs closed in FY23 so far surpasses total closures during 2016-2022: Govt data
With the instructions to reduce signal strengths in the 3300-3670 MHz bands, another argument suggests that the telecom companies can utilise spectrum in other bands to make up for the reduced speeds and coverage, the sources said.
In the US, the US Federal Aviation Authority had asked telecom operators such as Verizon and AT&T to install certain radio frequency filters or modify the airline radio altimeters for smooth 5G services.