Regulators in Europe recently cleared the way for devices that use 5G technology to stay on during flights. Aviation experts believe U.S. airlines are likely to follow, reports WKRC-TV.
The European Commission has ruled that airlines can provide 5G technology onboard in addition to allowing mobile data. EU members have been given until June 30, 2023, to provide 5G technology on aircraft. The changes will mean travelers can make phone calls, text and stream videos.
Historically there was little understanding of how mobile data might affect flight communications, Dai Whittingham, chief executive of the U.K. Flight Safety Committee, told the BBC. “There was a concern they could interfere with automatic flight control systems,” he said. “What has been found with experience is that the risk of interference is very small.”
In the U.S., the FAA is expected to keep in place a general regulation prohibiting the use of certain devices for safety’s sake, unless operators determine a device is OK to use, according to WKRC-TV.
Inside Towers has reported on concerns that 5G may cause interference to some aircraft radio altimeters in the U.S., which is why AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay use of their 5G operations on C-band near some airports.
This is not a problem in the U.K. and EU, Whittingham confirmed. “There is much less prospect of interference,” he said. “We have a different set of frequencies for 5G, and there are lower power settings than those that have been allowed in the U.S.”
“The traveling public wants 5G,” Whittingham added. “The regulators will open up that possibility, but there will be steps that will be taken to ensure that whatever they do is safe.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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