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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has assured Nigerians and stakeholders in the aviation industry of flight safety over 5G interference fears.

The regulatory agency dismissed the fears as unnecessary alarm in a statement monitored in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and hub to dozens of local airlines.

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NCAA said it was monitoring the use of 5G mobile network on flight operations in the country after unsubstantiated claim of US suspending 5G rollout over fears of interference from the technology.

But the controversy over radio altimeter that could possibly give aircraft erroneous indication during aircraft landing when they are about 2,500ft or so above the ground have since been thrashed by aviation authorities in the US.

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 “The challenge is not of concern yet to Nigeria. We do not have auto landing authorisation, our flights don’t do auto-landing. So, for now, it is not a problem we worry about, but we are closely monitoring the use of the 5G network here and maintaining a good situation. If there are issues that might affect us, we will definitely take the necessary action,” said Director General, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu.

He dismissed as untrue claims that the US had suspended the rollout of the 5G but was restricted away from airports.

According to Nuhu, a critical component is called radio altimeter; the spectrum by which this equipment operates is close to that of the 5G.

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5G network is said to conflict with aircraft in the US and has recently led to massive cancellation of international flights to the US after the country rolled out the mobile network. Experts say the frequency C-band used in 5G is almost the same as the frequency used in modern aircraft and the radio altimeter installed onboard aircraft that alerts the pilot the height above the terrain when he is approaching to land or take off.

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