US aviation is concerned with the impact of 5G frequencies as the UK negates any adverse effects.
According to aviation regulators in the UK, mobile phone emissions will not harm airliners. Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that 5G frequencies will not tamper with an airliner’s ability to fly or navigate. The US Federal Aviation Authority first identified these risks in December. As a result, the FAA issued a warning to their airliners about the potential risk of the 5G C-band frequencies. It was claimed that the 3.7-3.98GHz emitted by phone masts could impact the airliner radio altimeters. This led to a delay in C-band from major US operators.
UK authorities answer
On December 23rd, the British CAA announced that 5G emissions would not malfunction the altimeter of an airline or any other unexpected behavior. However, they did add that past performances cannot be taken as a guarantee for future application.
Directional 5G concerns
Most experts believe that frequencies from mobile phones and other network devices send their signal through beam-forcing. This means that the signals travel straight from the phone to the mast. This might become troublesome if several phones are switched on in the aircraft at the time of landing.
That being said, there is still no comprehensive study done on the effects. Therefore, it is impossible to say for sure what the impact of these frequencies would be. Experts have advised improving the radio frequency filters on the altimeters just in case an issue was to occur.
5G masts are being rolled out worldwide, but concerns about the impact of these frequencies are making airlines fearful. We will soon learn whether these frequencies can actually do any harm or just be like any other network.
18 hours ago
