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Airports are looking to private wireless networks to improve operations, executives said at MWC Las Vegas.
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Passengers could see benefits such as smoother baggage claim and check-ins, the panelists said.
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This article is part of ‘5G and Connectivity Playbook’, a series exploring one of the most important technological innovations of our time.
Private wireless networks are critical to a better airport experience for both the operations of travel hubs and the billions of passengers who pass through them.
This is according to airport executives who spoke on a panel about connected aviation at the Mobile World Congress Las Vegas trade fair on Tuesday.
Private networks generally offer greater security and reliability, lower latency, and higher bandwidth compared to public networks. For these reasons, they can help airports with operations and communications, aircraft and baggage tracking, and security.
For example, Ontario International Airport in California uses a private wireless network to run its perimeter intrusion detection system, said Charles Miwa, the airport’s chief information officer.
“As I think about a high-growth future, private wireless communications is fundamental. It will allow us to accommodate these ad hoc movements,” he said, emphasizing the need for flexibility given how often many airports undertake some form of construction to update their infrastructure.
“We’re trying to run more efficient airports and more customer-friendly airports,” said Michael Youngs, the vice president of information technology at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which last year announced a $10 million deal with AT&T for a private 5G network. .
“We’re not going to do it with people. We’re not going to do it with bricks and mortar. We’re going to do it with technology, with IoT, but we need that basic level of connectivity, private wireless, that will make it possible,” he added added, referring to the Internet of Things.
Private wireless networks can also help businesses with costs and mobility by reducing the cost of installing cables and providing connectivity to areas that may be harder to reach with cables.
“Especially at the airport, we traditionally don’t transfer anything very secure wirelessly. We just don’t do that,” said Kyle Mobley, director of information technology at the Port of Oakland, which operates San Francisco Bay Oakland International. Airport. “And just because we have any evidence doesn’t mean the way we do it is going to be any less safe. It’s what you don’t know.”
Mobley added, “Having this infrastructure wireless is huge.” For example, Mobley talked about using private radio for passenger traffic sensors.
“It’s hard to keep sending people into the field at 2 a.m. to investigate things,” he said. “And we cover such a large area that getting these sensors (lidar, cameras, whatever they are) into every corner of our property to give that person working at that desk the ability to know what’s going on. Do I have a squirrel running over the fence, or is it someone? The squirrel sometimes sends out like ten cars, and that’s not very efficient.”
About 58% of global airports that participated in the survey are investing in major 5G communications network development programs, and another 29% have research and development programs for this technology by 2026, according to the 2023 Air Transport IT Insights report from SITA. , an IT and telecommunications services provider for the aviation industry, and Airports Council International.
As for passengers, they may see benefits such as faster baggage claim or smoother check-ins.
“I don’t really plan on working in the private wireless sector — I feel like I need to work in the private wireless sector,” Youngs said. “I need to leverage data to move our airport forward. That’s really the end game.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
