Centre holds meeting with stakeholders on restoration of 5G services near airports

The central government has increased its efforts to relaunch 5G services in and around airports.
On Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) met with officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), telecom companies, airline operators, and other aviation stakeholders.

There was a discussion about resuming services at this meeting, and stakeholders and aircraft manufacturers presented their most recent report on 5G service-related issues.

“The meeting was fruitful. Stakeholders have submitted their reports before the regulators. More such meetings will be called in this regard,” an official who attended the meeting told ANI.

Last year, the Department of Telecommunications sent a letter to telecom companies in India that had announced plans for 5G services in the country, requesting that they not set up C-band 5G base stations within 2.1 kilometres of Indian airports with immediate effect, as C Band 5G can cause problems with the aircraft’s radio (radar) altimeter.

“5G service may affect aircraft altimeter signals,” the DoT warned.
The government is now looking into options for resuming 5G services near airports, so that telecom companies can begin 5G services in and around airports using lower spectrum bands.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the DGCA, the Department of Telecom, telecom companies, airline companies, aircraft manufacturers, and other aviation stakeholders.

5G service at the airport has been barred since November last year.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US has also warned earlier that, “5G could affect the ability of some aircraft to take altitude readings. 5G can also affect the altimeters of the aircraft, which tell at what height the aircraft is flying from the ground.”

Notably, 27 member countries of the European Union are using 5G networks near its airport with lower frequencies (3.4-3.8 GHz).