In a bid to break the impasse over the installation of 5G radios in the 3.3-3.6GHz band, also known as C-band, near airports, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has urged the government to ensure that 5G signals do not reach the airwaves. It was advised that controlled flight simulations should be conducted to prove this. Interfering with the control of airborne aircraft.
“We said our guardbands are large. There’s little chance that our harmonics will interfere. But if they don’t believe us, we can do a simulation in a lab test bed. should,” COAI secretary general SP Kochhar told Business Standard.
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In December last year, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked telecom operators not to deploy 5G base stations around India’s 137 airports, following recommendations from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Disputes that arose between telecommunications service providers and airlines in this regard have not yet been resolved.
COAI, which has all three private telecom service providers Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as members, says the majority of countries deploying 5G are not taking any precautions. told the government. More than 20 European countries have deployed C-band at power levels similar to those in the US for up to three years, with no harmful interference.
“In India, C-band spectrum is being auctioned in the 3300-3670 GHz band for 5G operations, while altimeter operates in the 4200-4400 MHz band, which is quite far away,” the industry body said.
In the United States, carriers use frequencies between 3.7 and 3.98 GHz, which is close to the frequency of radio altimeters in aircraft.
A designated buffer zone of 2,100 meters around the airport will enable 5G access not only near the airport but also where many of the runways and helipads are scattered around prime locations in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. COAI said that it would affect the possibility of
In January last year, the Pilots’ Federation of India had sent a letter raising concerns about possible interference of 5G signals in instruments such as radio altimeters on commercial aircraft. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had also written to the DoT stating that necessary precautions need to be taken as altimeters pick up weak signals from the ground.
Earlier this year, the International Air Transport Association also issued a warning on the issue, with some governments establishing sufficient spectral separation between 5G C-band deployment and the 4.2-4.4GHz frequency band used by existing radio altimeters. He pointed out that he selected the test for.
The report recommends that national aviation authorities clearly codify and enforce maximum power limits for 5G C-band transmissions and, in particular, ensure that 5G antennas installed near the flight path are tilted downward. There is. It called for a full 5G C-band ban and the establishment of precautionary zones around airports.
