General5G in Airplanes

There are serious concerns about 5G mobile services being allowed on airplanes. Large-scale airplane companies have shared concerns with the US over having 5G around plans stating these C-band spectrums . Is having 5G service on a plane a risk? What kind of threat does it pose? We will explore these concerns in this article.

Before delving into the issue, a bit of background is in order.

Evolution of 5G

The first generation of mobile technology was 1G used by briefcase-sized phones for short conversations between a relatively short number of people. After this came the 2G where the demand for personal mobile services grew. The 3G era brought with it mobile internet access, which everyone wanted to get their hands on. Then came 4G and smartphones and app stores became popular. Meanwhile, 5G is completely changing how we shape our personal and professional lives by enabling new technologies like augmented reality, enhanced video and gaming, and more.

The world started rolling out the 5G technology in 2019 and it is still in progress. However, it is widely available in the US and is being offered by many service providers in the US like Xfinity, Cox, Verizon, etc. Most of the service providers use their internet connection to provide a 5G connection, such as Xfinity. Xfinity 5G Mobile service requires a subscription to Xfinity internet to be able to function. Whereas Verizon Mobile services use Verizon cell towers in range to function with its 5G capabilities.  Whatever the kind of network connection, the 5G technology is accelerating at full speed all around the US.

Benefits of 5G Technology

The 5G technology has plenty of benefits that come with it;

• Higher bandwidth
• Use of higher frequency
• Enhanced mobile broadband connection
• Lower latency rates up to 1ms

Things that can be done with 5G technology

5G is the newest uproar in technology due to its ability to enhance user experiences and drive the digitization of industries.

• With the help of 5G technology, the mechanics of electricity grids will be designed to have reduced carbon emissions.
• 5G technology will help drones be able to accelerate and support emergency situation response
• Sensors will be able to detect and warn about the early stages of any natural disasters
• In businesses, production lines will be autonomously reacting to the process of supply and demand
• 5G technology will allow users to have remote access to powerful robots and vehicles
• In the agricultural context, 5G technology will be used to efficiently grow crops
• Mobile users will stable and reliable connectivity, far better than they had with the previous generations of mobile network

Due to the above mention uses in professional and personal lives, you can get the idea of how 5G technology will be useful in the global world.

5G in airplanes?

Coming back to the topic at hand, what does 5G technology have to do with airplanes? Nothing, except that the tower cells that they use might interfere with the altimeters.

Altimeters are instruments used by pilots to estimate an aircraft’s height or altitude. There are two altimeters used in planes; barometric altimeter and radio altimeter. Pilots mostly use the barometric altimeter to determine altitude above sea level.

Now the other type of altimeter called radio altimeter calculates an aircraft’s precise height by bouncing radio waves onto the surface below. It can only work from the ground up to a thousand feet.

Pilots use radio altimeters when they are touching down at airports in low visibility. It provides a precise guide on how high they are from the ground since they can’t see anything themselves in low visibility scenarios.

The problem is that the Federal Aviation Administration has released a stating that 5G technology transmitted in the C-band spectrum on cell towers around the airports interferes with radio altimeters used on all aircraft. This is a major risk that will cause harmful interference, and affect many aviation operations. This issue is still under investigation and the rollouts of 5G technology have been slowed down for the same reason.

C-Band Spectrum in 5G

C-band is the radio wave frequency between 3.4 GHz and 4.2 GHz, which is emerging as a resource for capacity crunch without incurring any costly investments. C-band is generally used for satellite, wireless, cordless phones connections as well as surveillance and weather radar systems. The 5G technology also depends on the same radio wave connections for faster and reliable connectivity than its previous counterparts.

Conclusion

The evolution of mobile network technology to 5G has many benefits for both the digital and physical world. It provides improved and more reliable connections than the previous generation of mobile network technology. However, in terms of aircraft, the cell towers of 5G technology around the airports pose serious threats to instruments that pilots use to maneuver all aircraft. Aviation and telecommunication agencies in the US are still looking for possible solutions for 5G cell towers to still work alongside radio altimeters that pilots need to use for their aircraft.

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