5G rapid rollout is a high priority around the world because its adoption can generate high revenue in both the public and private sectors thanks to its greater speed, capacity, and quicker response, which can positively increase businesses’ productivity and efficiency. But as evidenced by the recent concerns in the airline industry, there are key risks that need to be navigated.
The 5G spectrum comprises a range of radio frequencies (which are called C-band frequencies) that carry data from user equipment (such as cellphones) to cellular base stations and then to the data’s endpoint. This range of radio frequencies is in the sub-6 GHz range and the millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency range that is 24.25 GHz and above. These C-band frequencies are similar to the frequencies utilized by radio altimeters used by aircrafts.
The radio altimeter, which was developed in the 1920s but still plays a crucial role in aircrafts, is the instrument that measures the distance between an aircraft and the ground as well as other objects (i.e., the altitude of an aircraft), and its use is important to pilots, especially in situations where the sky’s visibility level is limited. Readings made by these altimeters are also fed directly into automated aviation systems that act without input from pilots.
The similarities between the C-band frequencies and those used by radio altimeters can lead to interference with these radio altimeters receiving the appropriate radio waves, resulting in the following risks:
- Risk of aircrafts’ engine and braking systems not transitioning to landing mode and therefore preventing an aircraft from stopping on the runway.
- Risk of the altimeter not being able to receive the waves or being able to distinguish between the waves that it is expecting to receive and other nearby waves, thereby giving the wrong reading or not functioning at all.
The risks listed above could result in situations such as those of the two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 Max plane in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airlines have shown concerns about these risks, which have led to wireless carriers that purchased 5G frequencies via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 5G Spectrum Auction and are implementing the 5G rollout (Verizon and AT&T) stating that they would delay the expansion of new 5G cellular service near some airports in order to avert damaging disruptions in airport operations.
The telecommunication industry (i.e., FCC and these cellular companies) pushed back against the concerns raised by the airlines and the FAA, explaining that 5G implementation has been in review for many years and the expectation is that the FAA would have ordered the aviation industry to upgrade and install better equipment to filter our 5G interference during this period in preparation. The industry further noted that the 5G rollout was successfully implemented in several European countries and that the concerns raised by the FAA and airlines are associated with worst-case situations.
The FAA contends that it did not know the details of the design of required 5G equipment and therefore it could not issue a new standard for radar altimeters. In addition, the FAA stated that there are technical differences in how 5G is being implemented in European countries and therefore cannot be used as a measuring stick for 5G rollout in the US.
In my view, the chaotic 5G cellular rollout at U.S airports was due to the following:
- Poor planning and lack of coordination among the aviation and telecommunications industries and their regulators, the FAA and the FCC.
- The FAA’s failure to install better equipment to filter out interference by upgrading to the use of existing filter devices that can silence wave signals that come from outside a desired frequency band.
- While companies are rolling out 5G, the FAA is way behind in the process, still in the stage of information-gathering and issuing new requirements for altimeters used for airplanes. It will take five years to upgrade altimeters in order to meet these new requirements.
This chaotic 5G cellular rollout could have been avoided if an appropriate framework such as ISACA’s Risk IT Framework had been adopted as a preliminary step in the 5G rollout exercise to conduct an effective risk assessment by applying the following framework’s principles, including:
(1) Establish Tone and Accountability at the Top
This involves engagement of all stakeholders (including the FAA, the FCC and the public) in the process of understanding identified risks involved in the 5G rollout, thereby creating an engaged tone and buy-in from the top while defining and enforcing clear accountability and assignment of risk ownership.
The stakeholders include the government, regulatory authorities, the FAA, the FCC, the aviation industry, telecommunication industry and the public. This principle would have promoted discussion and understanding of the FAA’s concerns about the involved identified risks and clear documentation of identified risks’ details.
(2) Balance Costs and Benefits
Via the implementation of the Risk IT Framework, the identified risks stated above would be prioritized based on potential impact on enterprise objectives and responses to these risks would then be implemented based on a cost/benefit analysis. Responses to these risks, such as generating required funds by government and the airline industry to upgrade equipment used by aircrafts, would be addressed and agreed upon by stakeholders.
(3) Promote Ethical and Open Communications
The Risk IT Framework promotes open, accurate, timely and transparent information on the identified risks that are freely exchanged between stakeholders, leading to appropriate business decisions being taken jointly by the government, regulatory authorities, the FAA, the FCC, the aviation industry and the telecommunication industry. These identified risks are translated into relevant and understandable business and financial terms so that these stakeholders can appropriately evaluate the impacts of these risks. Also, responses to these risks are communicated openly to all stakeholders in order to avoid any miscommunication or misunderstanding of risks and lack of appropriate responses to these risks which lead to poor business decisions. These miscommunications or misunderstanding of risks contributed to a chaotic 5G rollout at US airports.
While 5G technology continues to be very promising, the past few months have demonstrated that risk mitigation need to remain at the forefront of stakeholders’ implementation plans.