Does 5G interfere with aircraft in Europe?

During the two-week delay in deploying new 5G service, safety experts determined that 5G interference with the aircraft’s radio altimeter could prevent engine and braking systems from transitioning to landing mode , which could prevent an aircraft from stopping on the runway.

Almost 40 other countries across Europe and Asia use the 5G C-band without any reported effects on radio altimeters that operate in the same internationally designated 4.2-4.4 GHz band , according to the US wireless trade body CTIA.20 Oca 2022

The FAA warned that the new 5G technology could interfere with instruments such as altimeters , which measure how far above the ground an airplane is travelling. Altimeters operate in the 4.2-4.4 GHz range and the concern is that the auctioned frequencies sit too close to this range.

“Wireless carriers in nearly 40 countries throughout Europe and Asia now use the C band for 5G , with no reported effects on radio altimeters that operate in the same internationally designated 4.2-4.4 GHz band,” CTIA, a U.S. wireless trade group, said in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission.