In January 2022, Air India and some other international airlines cancelled their flights to the United States amid uncertainty about potential interference between new 5G cell phone services and critical airplane technologies.
- On 20th January, however, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared the landing of more aircraft even in low-visibility conditions, despite the rollout of C-band 5G technology.
What is the issue?
- On January 14, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that the rollout of new 5G technology by AT&T and Verizon in the allotted 3.7-3.98 GHz (gigahertz) band could potentially lead to interference with onboard instruments such as radar altimeters.
- Airlines have said that the frequencies used by the telecom companies for 5G rollout is very close to the frequencies used by onboard instruments such as radar altimeters, which operate in the 4.2-4.4 GHz range.
- For all airborne vehicles — an aircraft, spacecraft, or even a missile — an altimeter is crucial to gauge the altitude and the distance covered.
- The radio or radar altimeter is a very small, low-power radar system that operates in the 4.2-4.4 GHz frequency microwave C-band.
- The high frequency of these altimeters enable aircraft makers to install small antennae that produce powerful signals that can be relayed quickly and accurately.
- The 3.7-3.98 GHz on the C-band spectrum range is very close to the 4.2-4.4 GHz range in which radio or radar altimeters operate.
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