Europe: 5G on planes, Wi-Fi on the road
Passengers aboard flights in the EU will be able to use their mobile phones to the maximum of their capacity and features, just like with a ground-based 5G mobile network.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal market, said: 5G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European companies. The sky is no longer the limit when it comes to possibilities offered by super-fast, high-capacity connectivity.
Since 2008, the Commission’s implementing decision has reserved certain frequencies for mobile communications on planes, allowing airlines to provide messaging, phone calls and data services to passengers flying in the EU. This update of the Commission’s implementing decision on mobile communications onboard aircraft paves the way for the widespread deployment of 5G services.
The service is provided within the cabin of an equipped aircraft using special network equipment, the so-called ‘pico-cell’, to connect the users and route calls, texts, and data, typically via a satellite network, between the airplane and the ground-based mobile network.
The Commission also amended an implementing decision on 5GHz frequency bands, which makes the bands available for Wi-Fi in road transport, for example in cars and buses. The amending decision lays the foundation for innovations in the automotive industry and potentially for Metaverse applications. According to the amendment of the implementing decision, the Member States shall make the 5GHz frequency bands available for use aboard road vehicles as early as possible and at the latest by 30 June 2023. Get your 5G smartphone here.
Beyond 5G, toward 6G 5g on planes europe
5G technology and standards will evolve over the next few years as deployment advances. Research and Innovation (R&I) initiatives on 6G technologies are now starting around the world, with the first products and infrastructures expected for the end of this decade.
6G systems will move us from Gigabit to Terabit capacities and sub-millisecond response times. This will enable new applications such as real-time automation or extended reality sensing (“Internet of Senses”), collecting data for a digital twin of the physical world.
In Europe, a first set of 6G projects worth €60 million was launched under the 5G-PPP. The Hexa-X flagship is developing a first 6G system concept complemented by 8 projects investigating specific technologies for 6G.
The European Commission adopted its legislative proposal for a strategic European partnership on Smart Network and Services as a Joint Undertaking in February 2021, which entered into force on 30 November 2021. The Regulation includes a public R&I investment of €900 million over the period 2021-2027.
In December, the newly created Joint Undertaking on Smart Networks and Services towards 6G adopted its first Work Programme 2021-2022 with an earmarked public funding of about € 240 million. The SNS JU organised its launch event “On the Road to 6G” at the Mobile World Congress 2022, in Barcelona on 1 March 2022.
The Joint Undertaking is coordinating research activities on 6G technology under Horizon Europe as well as 5G deployment initiatives under the Connecting Europe Facility Digital and other programmes.
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