The bosses of airlines such as American Airlines, Delta and Southwest had warned that the new 5G mobile communications standard would cause interference with aircraft technologies such as altimeters and thus pose a massive risk to safety. The US air traffic control had even demanded additional precautions for landing planes because of safety concerns because the machines could have longer braking distances. In the end, the US telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon “voluntarily” decided to initially limit the introduction of the new mobile communications standard in the vicinity of 50 US airports.
It is difficult to understand why the US authorities came to this assessment. In Europe and also in Austria, which is one of the international pioneers with the 5G expansion, airports and the surrounding area are also supplied with 5G without interference. “An influencing of the high-altitude radar of aircraft by 5G is excluded, the frequency spacing is by far sufficient,” said Gregor Wagner, spokesman for the Forum Mobilkommunikation, to the OÖNachrichten. The EU aviation authority also sees no risk.
5G mobile communications in Europe uses a part of the so-called C band at a frequency of 3.4 to 3.8 gigahertz, in the USA a little more, up to 3.98. The altimeters transmit and receive at 4.2 to 4.4 gigahertz. The “safety margin” is very large at 200 to 400 megahertz, say local mobile operators. They are watching the debate with eagle eyes because they shy away from further fears in the population about 5G, as there are already. The 5G network expansion in Austria is in full swing, and basic coverage is available in urban areas. In 2024, the 5G network – like 4G/LTE today – will be rolled out across the board.
Flights canceled, other planes
A number of airlines such as Emirates canceled flights to the USA. Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines (AUA) used aircraft types other than the Boeing 777, which was criticized for 5G. The Americans are demanding that certain aircraft types have to be upgraded. Lufthansa flew to Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco on Wednesday with the Boeing 747-400. The AUA changes to New York from the Boeing 777 to the Boeing 767. Decisions for the following days have not yet been made.
What about 5G interference in hospitals and medical equipment, for example? Wagner: “There are no reports on this.” It is well known that radio systems and mobile phones can generally interfere with an EEG, for example.
The extent to which political motives (such as reprisals against Chinese network equipment suppliers such as Huawei) or the airlines’ fear of lawsuits running into the billions are fueling the US action is speculation.
Source: Nachrichten
