How 5G Mobile Phone Networks & Towers Can Disrupt Aviation

In January 2022, a number of international airlines cancelled flights to the US. Their decision was not COVID-related, but rather because interference from 5G antennas.

These 5G networks, suprisingly enough, were causing chaos for pilots attempting to land, particularly at airports with low visibility.

Cockpit safety systems and 5G use radio at a closely assigned frequency, which means there is an increased chance of interference.

A stalemate situation between the aviation and telcom industries

There is no particular or exclusive part of the electromagnetic spectrum that 5G uses.

However, in America, the frequencies associated with 5G are particularly close to those used by aircraft.

As more 5G technology is switched on, America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and telecom giants are scrambling to clear up this unfortunate mess.

Because of the increased risk of 5G interferences, Emirates, Air India, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways have all recently cancelled or changed flights. Boeing issued a warning for aircraft carriers to not use 777 planes to land in America.

Major US airline companies requested the Biden administration declare a two-mile 5G signal buffer zone around airports or be at risk of major disruption. A temporary agreement between stakeholders was subsequently reached to delay roll-out of the 5G antennas to ensure air safety for the time being.

To date, fifty airports in the US have been selected to implement these buffer zones for six months. Discussions and agreements are expected to take months to complete.

What is an altimeter and how does 5G affect them?

Up to 70,000 planes in the US rely on instruments called altimeters to land safely, particularly in inclement or wintry weather.

Radio altimeters are key aviation instruments that reflect radio waves from the ground to measure vertical distance and are vital for some automated landing procedures.

Both altimeters and wireless communications use band frequency. The spectrum chosen for 5G in the US is near to the frequency used by aircraft altimeters – the equipment that measures altitude – and is essential for landing a plane in low visibility. To ensure air safety, diversions and delays are the natural consequence of such interference.

Sharing a similar bandwidth causes messages to become garbled – a bit like when your radio is caught between two stations.

The problem also affects military aircraft, medical helicopters and air cargo deliveries, threatening not just travellers but also essential operations.

5G and Australian aircraft safety

France and Canada have put limits on 5G capability around airports, and antennas are angled to minimise interference to sensitive airplane systems. Europe uses a different bandwidth, as does Australia. There have been no recorded incidents of interference in Australia – yet.

The Federal Government maintains that 5G is completely safe for installation in Australia, is researched and regulated for Australian conditions. Their article of 7 January 2022 asserts that our 5G transmission does not extend into the part of the spectrum that has been causing issues in America.

Here, 5G transmissions top at 3.7GHx, which is well below radio altimeter frequencies.

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