No evidence that 5G poses risk to planes, say regulators

BRITISH regulators have sought to soothe fears that 5G signals could interfere with aircraft safety systems following a standoff between US authorities and mobile phone operators.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said there was no evidence that the networks pose a risk, after AT&T and Verizon were forced to delay their 5G rollouts in America.

The two providers have pushed back deployment of their networks by a month and are in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over concerns that the new frequency band risks interfering with cockpit monitoring devices.

The CAA said it is working with Ofcom, the telecoms watchog, and the Ministry of Defence to ensure 5G signals do not cause problems in UK airspace.

The authorities are keen to ensure that 5G does not interfere with radio altimeters, which measure the height of an aircraft above the terrain below. US officials are reportedly worried that this could then interfere with the aircraft’s auto-pilot.

It is understood that helicopters and smaller aircraft are more vulnerable to 5G networks than larger commercial planes. Aircraft manufacturers are designing new radios that are protected from more advanced mobile networks.

Aviation sources said that 5G handsets used on the ground should not cause interference, but could lead to problems on smaller aircraft if used onboard.

There have been no reported problems in the UK.

A spokesman for the CAA said: “We are aware of reports that suggest that the frequency band being used for 5G in a number of countries could potentially pose a risk of interference with aircraft radio altimeters.

“There have been no reported incidents of aircraft systems being affected by 5G transmissions in UK airspace, but we are none the less working with Ofcom and the Ministry of Defence to make sure that the deployment of 5G in the UK does not cause any technical problems for aircraft.”

A spokesman for Ofcom said: “We’re aware that the aviation sector is looking at this; we’ve done our own technical analysis and are yet to see any evidence that would give us cause for concern.”

The FAA had been considering limiting the use of auto-pilot systems where the planes flew close to mobile towers transmitting 5G frequencies, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Plans to launch 5G services in America have instead been pushed back from Dec 5 to Jan 5.