The department of telecommunications (DoT) will conduct a detailed study before allowing telecom operators to provide 5G services in areas around airports, and a decision on this is expected in four to five weeks, according to sources.
Telecom operators and other industry experts are of the opinion that the core 5G band or the 3300-3670 MHz band auctioned in the country will not affect aircraft operations. The telcos, represented by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), had written to the government last month urging to lift the temporary ban on starting 5G services in areas around the airport.
“The telecom department is taking into consideration all the views and we issued the directions to telcos after the civil aviation ministry flagged certain concerns with regards to operations of aircraft. Since it’s a matter of public safety, DoT will conduct a detailed study before taking a decision further,” an official said on the condition of anonymity.
“The discussions internally on the subject are taken up on priority and issues will be resolved in the next 4-5 weeks,” the official added.
As part of the study on 5G interference with aircraft operations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also asked the respective airlines to consult their original equipment makers as well, regarding any possible interference with the 5G frequency, according to sources.
Months after the auction and launch of 5G services, the telecom department 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 DGCA’s guidelines, DoT had asked telcos to limit the radio power of radiation to 58 dBm per MHz at the base stations installed 540 metres around the surrounding area of the airport. The telecom department also asked the operators to ensure downward tilting of 5G base stations to an extent that the 5G emissions do not interfere with radio altimeters.
As per the DoT’s letter to telcos, 5G services around the airports can only be started after the DGCA replaces all aircraft radio altimeters filters.
“There is no evidence that the 5G frequency auctioned in the country will interfere with the operations of aircraft. The interference can be possible only in bands beyond 4200 MHz. Even if the telecom operators are asked to operate our radios at a lower power, the 5G experience and connectivity experience for the users will be affected,” an industry executive said.
Further, if DGCA considers replacing the radio altimeters, it will take a lot of time owing to supply side constraints, according to experts.
The issues raised by DGCA are similar to the concerns raised by the US Federal Aviation Authority when 5G services started in the US, which also witnessed disruption in flight operations on possible interference of 5G frequencies with the aircraft. In the US, the FAA 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.
“In the US, the C-band (or core 5G band) is 4200 MHz and therefore that could disrupt the airline operations. The regulator there, has also asked the telecom operators to also lower the power of radiation from the 5G infrastructure around airports,” the industry executive said.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the only operators to have started rolling out 5G services. The companies have launched the services in over 150 cities as of now.
