Editorial: 5G fiasco takes flight

Last week, Air India cancelled a majority of its flights on the India US routes, owing to safety concerns that had risen in the backdrop of 5G rollout in the US and its potential hazardous impact on the navigation systems of aircraft. India had taken a lead from several global airlines, which had proceeded to cancel or reschedule their flights to the US, on account of the perceived interference of 5G signals with the radio altimeters onboard the aircraft. Subsequently, the national carrier was cleared to fly its Boeing 777 aircraft to the US.

C-band 5G services were scheduled for rollout in America last week. The bone of contention raised by experts in aviation was that the frequencies within the C-band were closer to the airwaves used by the aircraft altimeters, as compared to the frequencies used by earlier generations of cellular services. In aviation parlance, the altimeters enable the tracking of the aircraft’s height above the ground, as well as helps the aircraft make landings during bad weather. In the aftermath of the cancellations, a few American telecom majors announced that they would defer the activation of 5G services on a few towers in the vicinity of key airports in the US. Although 5G technology has been deployed in over 36 nations, the manner in which American networks have been designed has raised concerns on air safety.

One of the fears expressed by stakeholders is that the malfunctioning of an altimeter due to interference from 5G signals could precipitate a chain reaction of errors by the automated systems in the aircraft as well as by pilots. Similar errors were reported to have played a major role in two fatal air accidents involving the Boeing 737 Max aircraft which had led to the aircraft being grounded by the regulators for about two years.

Industry observers say the so-called snafu over 5G services was a long time in the coming, and something which was avoidable. Reportedly, the US’s Transportation Department had warned the country’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration that permitting 5G to operate in the proposed frequency band would lead to problems for flight safety systems. But this information was not passed on to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and cellular services companies.

However, several wireless experts have suggested that 5G signals do not pose any safety risk to aircraft, even as the airline industry has set off to work on new standards for radio altimeters that would address issues of 5G interference. These standards are set to be released in October this year and will be applicable to new altimeters. Alternatively, airlines could be asked to upgrade the altimeters in their aircraft, but the exercise could entail billions of dollars, a tab that neither the aviation industry nor the wireless majors are willing to pick up.

The introduction of 5G services is being seen by nations as the ticket to usher in a whole new world of digitisation in areas such as telemedicine as well as driverless or autonomous driving. The deployment of this technology is also being awaited eagerly in many metros in India, where it’s expected to be rolled out this year.

One of the takeaways from this development is how interlinked the notion of citizen safety is with good governance. A technology that has been making the rounds for close to a decade now, is pitched by industry veterans as the next best thing since sliced bread. And just days before it is set to be deployed, something as crucial as air safety concerns throw a spanner in the works. This month, two passenger aircraft in India had a miraculous escape from a possible mid-air collision when their traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) failed to alert them on their head-on trajectory. As far as any new technology is concerned, it’s prudent to look before you leap.