Government Asks Telcos to Take Measures While Setting Up 5G Towers Near Airports

Telecos have been advised to establish safety and buffer zones in the vicinity of airports.

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 28 March 2023 11:08 IST

Government Asks Telcos to Take Measures While Setting Up 5G Towers Near Airports

TSPs have been advised to restrict power levels of C-Band 5G transmissions around airports

Highlights

Interference with aircraft radio altimeters may affect aircraft operation
DGCA has repeatedly reviewed risk involved in air travel
TSPs have been advised to establish safety and buffer zones

Telecom service providers have been advised to take various measures, including establishing safety and buffer zones, while placing 5G towers in the vicinity of airports to minimise interference of 5G services in aircraft operations, the government said on Monday.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has not conducted any study on the potential effect of 5G signals on safe civil aircraft operations.

"However, DGCA has, reviewed the studies/action undertaken by various countries during the launch of 5G on the potential interference of 5G C-band signals on radio altimeters installed on the aircraft and risk involved in air travel.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"The review has shown that there may be a likelihood of interference in the functioning of Radio Altimeter installed on aircraft due to C-band 5G signals which may affect vital aircraft systems and can lead to unsafe aircraft operations," he said in a written reply.

Based on the technical inputs received from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), he said that while there is a guard band available in the frequency band allocated to 5G transmissions for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) in India, there may be a possibility of interference with aircraft radio altimeters which may affect safe aircraft operations.

In order to minimise the interference, the Telecom Service Providers (TSP) have been advised to take various measures while placing 5G towers in the vicinity of airports.

Jio Installs 1 Lakh Towers to Expedite 5G Rollout in India: DoT Report

They have been advised to establish safety and buffer zones in the vicinity of airports, restricting power levels of C-Band 5G transmissions around the airports, and ensure the tilt of 5G base stations to an extent such that the 5G emissions do not interfere with radio altimeters.

Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.