NASA revealed early findings of research into if 5G could handle the demands of air taxi communications systems, with the agency indicating the architecture’s qualities could make it ideal for providing accurate location data in city skies.

Explaining the rationale for the test in an overview of its work so far, the agency pointed to 5G’s ability to manage large volumes of data simultaneously, along with a “very low” signal transmission delay compared to satellite systems.

It highlighted these factors could potentially support location data sharing between aircraft operating in busy urban areas, with ground antennas and city networks helping “air taxis stay connected as they fly over buildings, making urban flights safer”.

In initial trials the agency set-up a system meeting current 5G standards comprising a radio and other kit in an aircraft and infrastructure on the roof of one of its test centre buildings.

“With an experimental license from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct flights, the team tested signal transmissions using a radio frequency band the Federal Communications Commission dedicated for the safe testing of drones and other uncrewed aircraft systems,” it noted.

During the flights it assessed the quality of the signal as it moved away from the base station and identified areas where buildings could cause interference or block signals. It also looked into how the aircraft’s angle impacted connection quality.

Test flights took place during April and May 2025. It now plans to investigate how “5G standards and technologies could be utilised in existing aviation bands to provide air-to-ground and aircraft-to-aircraft communications services”.

Cellular investments
NASA’s 5G air taxi mission is an attempt to see if the aviation industry could use the “expertise, experience, and investments made by the cellular industry toward the development of reliable, secure, and scalable aviation networks,” rather than entirely new standards being developed for air taxis.

It added if 5G networks could “provide an 80 per cent solution” researchers could focus on addressing the remainder of the industry’s needs.

NASA’s lead researcher on the project Casey Bakula added its goal was to understand how cellular networks could be used “by the aviation industry to enable new frontiers of aviation operations”.

“The findings of this work could serve as a blueprint for future aviation communication network providers, like satellite navigation providers and telecommunications companies, and help guide the Federal Aviation Administration’s plan for future advanced air mobility network requirements in cities.”