Feasibility of Direct Air to Ground Communication via a Terrestrial 5G Network

This feasibility study deals with Air to Ground (ATG) communications between a 5G type Terrestrial Mobile Communication Network (TMCN) and an User Equipment (UE) installed onboard a passenger aircraft in approach to an airport. The network model is based on real gNodeB (gNB) deployment data and optimized for serving terrestrial UEs. The evaluation concerns a scenario in which the passenger aircraft is supported by a remote operator via an ATG link to assist its safe landing. To mitigate the interference expected to arise in ATG communications, the aircraft is assumed to be equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA). The simulation results discussed in this paper address the Signal to Interference power Ratio (SIR), link availability, and handover process during ATG communications along representative approach trajectories for different AESA configurations and levels of support by the TMCN. It is shown that SIR above 30 dB and link availability upto 97.7% can be achieved by using an 8 x 8 AESA at the aircraft when the network provides support in the form of dedicated radio resources. It is observed that the frequency of handovers increases with improving link quality.