5G has been rolling out quickly in several parts of the country. However, there's still one area where telcos can't offer their 5G - airports. This is due to the fear of 5G frequencies interfering with the altimeter frequencies inside the aircraft and becoming a cause for potential accidents. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked telcos to avoid rolling out 5G in the airport premises or near airports where the 5G signals reach the airstrip.
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Because the airstrip is important to safeguard from the 5G signals, the telcos proposed a low-powered radio to the DGCA. With a low-powered radio, the 5G signals would only be offered to passengers sitting in the waiting area or inside the terminal building. However, the DGCA isn't too comfortable with the proposal from the telecom operators and has rejected it, said an FE report.
DGCA has asked the telcos to not roll out 5G base stations in the area of 2.1 km from the end of the runways and 910 meters from the central line of the runways. This is to ensure that no accidents occur due to the interference of 5G signals with the altimeters. For the unaware, altimeters are crucial aircraft equipment through which a pilot can see the distance between the aircraft and the ground. It is a tool that is very important to work accurately at the time of landing as well as takeoff.
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The airlines will slowly upgrade their aircraft with new generation altimeters which would not see any interference with 5G. However, that will take some time. It is estimated that for the coming 1.5 to 2 years, Indian airports won't see any trace of 5G. It is worth noting that in many countries where 5G is already working inside airports, the altimeters seem to work fine and no cases of accidents have been reported.
