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US airports have a serious problem with 5G networks

The airlines and airports of the United States are not going through their best moment. If a few weeks ago they were news because the COVID had caused dozens of flights to be canceled due to the lack of personnel available to travel, now a new controversy that involves the use of 5G networks at airportsHe threatens to do the same.

Apparently, transportation regulators in the American country are concerned that the new 5G frequencies that will be enabled throughout this month could interfere with some aircraft navigation instruments, the altimeters potentially most affected. Despite the fact that telecommunications operators assure that there is no reason to worry, the truth is that the fear expressed by more and more groups related to aviation in the United States is real and it is feared that hundreds of flights destined for the American country begin to be affected.

In fact, the regulator is so concerned about the problems this can cause that it has issued an urgent order prohibiting pilots from using altimeters that could potentially be affected by these signals around airports, where low visibility conditions require it. This will cause planes to be unable to reach some airports under certain circumstances, since the only way they could land would be precisely, using these instruments.

A problem that only affects the United States

That 5G signals negatively affect air navigation instruments could become a global problem if it weren’t for the fact that at the moment, it is something that only affects airports located in the United States. And it is that while in the American country they already fear the effects that a future avalanche of flight cancellations may cause, air traffic in Europe and the main Asian countries continues to develop normally.

What is the reason for this disparity of criteria? Why are the voices that call for alarm in the United States not repeated in any other developed country? The explanation is found in the different frequencies that are being used.

Telecommunications companies in the United States have begun to roll out new 5G services over a spectrum of radio waves with frequencies between 3.7 and 3.98GHz, for which they paid no less than 81,000 million dollars in 2021 to exploit a spectrum known as C-band and that allows ultra-fast connections. What happen? That the aviation industry is concerned that those 5G frequencies are too close to the spectrum used by radar altimeters, which is between 4.2 and 4.4 GHz.

Why is this not a concern in Europe? In the European case, the telephone companies opted to use the frequency located between 3.4 and 3.8 GHz, somewhat slower than that of the United States, but which, in return, maintains a wide “safety margin” against to aircraft navigation devices, thus eliminating the possibility of interference.

less power

In the European case, other security measures have been put in place that differentiate the use of 5G from what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic.

Most of the countries of the old continent use lower power levels and even restrict the placement of 5G antennas near airfields, or require them to be tilted downwards to limit possible interference with aircraft.

In many countries, the height of a 5G antenna and the strength of its signal determine how close it can be to a runway or aircraft flight path. As in the case of Spain, it is also required that the antennas be tilted, away from the flight paths to minimize the risk of interference.

For now, and fearing that flights will continue to be canceled (British Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates have begun to do so), telecommunications companies such as AT&T have announced that they will delay the activation of certain 5G towers that are located near some airports. However, it seems to be little more than a temporary patch as the investment required to readjust all the antennas that have already been deployed is immense.

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