Britain Could Switch Off Airport Radar and Release 5G Spectrum

judgecorp writes "Britain is considering switching off air traffic control radar systems and using "passive radar" instead. A two year feasibility study will consider using a network of ground stations which monitor broadcast TV signals and measure echoes from aircraft to determine their location and velocity. The system is not a new idea — early radar experiments used BBC shortwave transmitters as a signal source before antenna technology produced a transceiver suitable for radar — but could now be better than conventional radar thanks to new antenna designs and signal processing techniques. It will also save money and energy by eliminating transmitters — and release spectrum for 5G services."

Comments

Re:UK and TV rader? LOL

[Pax681]

Yeah given the fact the UK has had only 4 TV channels for decades, took another decade to add a 5th channel, and reception is piss poor unless you live under an antenna.

And UK is one of the bussiest airspaces in the world.

I do not like this one bit.

um.. we have about 50 channels or so on broadcast TV now and countless bullshit channels factoring in satellite and cable
i get a better reception on the digital channels than i did on the analogue set up... not that i watch it much tbh... it's 99% shit which is generally what happens with hundreds of channels... that and fucking repeats

I'm waiting for 8G

[gsgriffin]

I don't upgrade every year. I'm just waiting for 8G so the speeds will actually be as claimed for 4G