A simulation of Altimeter Antenna Interference for 5G and aircraft safety

Ranu Rawat

Volume: 08 Issue: 03 2022

Abstract:

Air traffic was disrupted in Feb, 2022 as a result of an FAA order on January 18 forbidding pilots to use an auto-landing system at 50 airports in the U.S. where Verizon and AT&T were erecting their new C-band 5G cell towers. This order coincided with the service activation of those towers, radiating radio frequency (RF) power into those new bands that were quite close to the radio frequencies used by aircraft altimeter systems This computer simulation shows an aircraft landing through a C-Band 5G signal emitted from a base station near the airport. The orb below the aircraft represents the radar altimeter. Ansys, which created the simulation, is the leader in simulation software that is used by engineers to model these very types of scenarios so they can see and mitigate problems before physical products are made or deployed. This kind of modelling can also be used to set safety constraints on 5G transmitters at specific locations around airports or other locations of interest to public safety. It's a lot less expensive to tweak a system in the computer than it is to make costly updates to hardware after construction.

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