China to roll out dedicated 5G network for airports, plays down frequency interference concerns
- The CAAC said its 5G airport system will not affect flight safety because it will operate on specific frequencies, and use independent base stations and telecoms services
- The project aligns with the State Council’s call to expand 5G applications to industrial sectors such as manufacturing, the power grid and ports in the 2021-2025 period
A 5G-based aeronautical mobile airport communications (AeroMACS) system to provide enhanced connectivity between planes, tarmac vehicles and other airport infrastructure will be built by 2025, according to a plan announced by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Friday.
The move comes after major US airlines warned last week of a “catastrophic” aviation crisis as US telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon proceeded to deploy new 5G services.
US airlines say that 5G services using the C-band frequency, from 3.7 to 3.98 gigahertz, could interfere with instruments such as altimeters, which measure aircraft altitude, according to a Reuters report.
China’s four state-owned carriers use C-band frequencies from 2.6 to 4.9 GHz, but a fourth carrier, China Broadcasting Network, was allocated the 700-megahertz low frequency 5G band for networks in rural areas.
CAAC officials told reporters on Friday that China’s 5G AeroMACS airport system will not affect flight safety because it operates on specific frequencies, and uses independent base stations and telecoms services.
“The aviation-specific 5G will be built on a private network, and completely isolated from public 5G networks deployed by telecoms operators,” said CAAC official Chen Xiangyang, adding that the 5G frequencies will not affect aircraft altimeters in China.