UAE telecom regulator says country's 5G services don't disrupt aircraft’s navigation system

The UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) on Thursday assured that the deployment of the 5G mobile services in the country has no impact on the aircraft’s navigation system.

The UAE regulator’s statement comes after many airlines - including Emirates, British Airways, Air India, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airways and Lufthansa - suspended flights to the US, due to the rollout of C-Band 5G service which could interfere with sensitive aeroplane instruments such as altimeters and affect low-visibility operations.

But the US telecom operator AT&T and Verizon later announced that they would delay the deployment of the 5G telecom services at the US airports so that airlines can resume operations.

The UAE regulator clarified that this issue due to 5G deployment “is exclusively related to the US airports referred to, as new spectrum frequencies have been allocated to 5G that differ from the frequencies designated for use in our region, and there is no disruption or interference in the UAE between 5G networks and air navigation systems.”

TDRA said it bases its 5G plans on studies that take into account the safety of frequencies and potential impact on other sectors.

It said 5G stations in the UAE “have been installed in multiple places for many years, and no negative impact on the safety of air navigation systems has occurred.”

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The UAE was the first country to deploy 5G technology in the region in the middle of 2019. In addition to the Emirates, more than 40 other countries have also rolled out 5G technology in the last few years without any incident.

TDRA said it is in touch with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, which is coordinating with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and European and American aviation safety regulatory agencies to ensure the highest levels of safety and security in this context.

• Dubai