Is 5G Services Critical to Aviation Market?
Introducing a brand-new generation, several telecoms around the world had the vision that 5G would open a new world in the digital market as they started preparing for its launch.
Advancing the new generation in telecom as several operators unveil 5G across the globe, multiple factors have recently come into the light.
Unlike previous generations like 3G and 4G where operators had full direct access and control over system components, 5G mobile operators are now losing the aspect of security and privacy.
And the constant talks of integrating 5G in numerous sectors including 5G in the Aviation Sector, have sparked a new round of controversies in the digital world.
Let’s take an example to understand this.
When digital mobile phones got released in the US, a new controversy emerged in regards to electric wheelchairs. Since the pulsing signal of the mobiles interfered with their controls, experts came up with the solution to use shielding to stop the interference. And it worked!
In another similar case, when mobiles started using international GSM digital standards in the US, hearing aids began buzzing. The solution was again discovered by updating the old way of doing things to adapt to the new environment.
This shows that updating and shielding the old technology for the new one was the correct way to go since old times.
So, what is happening in the latest round of arguments going on in the US of introducing 5G in Aviation Sector?
Before discussing the ongoing controversy of integrating 5G in Aviation Sector, let’s go around understanding 5G and how its integration in various fields affects them in the long run.
5G and its Impact in Other Fields
Introducing a brand-new generation, several telecoms around the world had the vision that 5G would open a new world in the digital market as they started preparing for its launch.
However, their vision got surpassed by a large amount, as 5G exceeded their expectations and is going forward to affect every technology-related field.
5G has a firm hand in the sudden rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, as predicted by various surveys that go on to say that the number of IoT devices relying on 5G to transmit vast amounts of data in real-time has been forecasted to grow from 12 billion in 2020 to 30B+ in 2025.
And this is just one field, going forward, 5G technology is going to impact major operations in the manufacturing industry to become more flexible and efficient as manufacturers move towards building smart factories based on automation, AR and IoT.
Another major field that will feel the impact of 5G is none other than Energy Production Market.
5G is predicted to enhance and speed up the efficiency of energy production with more connected smart grids that in turn will reduce electricity peaks and energy costs too.
Therefore, the impact of 5G in Aviation Sector is no longer a small matter. However, as we have seen so far, change is always something that terrifies people and therefore takes time.
5G in Aviation
As discussed above, the impact of 5G in Aviation market is slowly making people averse to this change since it will bring a new era in technology that will transform the whole industry.
Explaining the ongoing long story in simpler words, US telecom companies and airlines heads are in a bind for weeks over the potential heavy impact of 5G wireless services on the aircraft.
The fight started over the concern of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that had issued a formal warning in November 2021 about the potential risk 5G wireless services will have as they might interfere with the flight equipment.
Since aircraft usually use radar altimeters to measure altitude that normally operates in the 4.2-4.4 GHz range, FCC finds it worrisome to integrate 5G in Aviation market as 5G network range do not provide a big enough buffer from the frequencies to that of their altimeters.
They predicted that this lack of buffer in frequencies will interfere with their altimeter and will create problems, leading to air crashes in the future, so they have shown high resistance in going forward to this integration of 5G in Aviation Sector.
In short, the higher the frequency in the spectrum, the faster the wireless service is. So, to get full value from 5G, various telecom operators will need to operate at higher frequencies.
This might lead to interference issues that might impact airline equipment leading to possible accidents.
The prospect of flight disruptions also appears due to the ongoing setback Aviation market suffered during the coronavirus pandemic that led to billions of dollars losses.
According to the latest trade group Airlines for America, the Airlines industry is concerned about the possibilities of clashes 5G in Aviation will cost them to around $2.1 billion in-flight disruptions in the future.
Reality of Integrating 5G in Aviation Sector
But is this the first instance of integrating 5G in Aviation Sector all across the globe?
The answer is “No” as South Korea has already applied this integration that reported that 5G mobile communication frequency ranging from the 3.42-3.7GHz band had already been deployed in their Airlines Market and has not reported any signs of interference with radio wave till now.
Following the example, another trade group had remarked that wireless carriers in nearly 40 countries spanning across Europe and Asia have been C-Band for 5G, and have never reported any effects on radio altimeters that operate in the same internationally standardized frequency of 4.2-4.4 GHz.
Concluding the ongoing debate, the truth of the matter stands unbridged that change in airline equipment and functioning is the need of the hour and till the airlines market of the US accepts that integration 5G in Aviation Market is inevitable, the stalemate will continue.
