An airline industry trade group said federal regulators are
taking a “rushed approach” to changing equipment on planes under pressure from
the telecommunications companies.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that the
wireless companies agreed to delay some of their use of the C-Band section of
the radio spectrum until July 2023.
"We believe we have identified a path that will
continue to enable aviation and 5G C-band wireless to safely co-exist,” said
the FAA's acting administrator, Billy Nolen.
However, aviation groups say the C-Band service could
interfere with radio altimeters — devices used to measure a plane's height
above the ground. Pilots use altimeters for landing in bad weather, when
visibility is poor.
Nolen said planes most susceptible to interference —
smaller, so-called regional airline planes — must be retrofitted with filters
or new altimeters by the end of this year. Components to retrofit larger planes
used by major airlines should be available by July 2023, when the wireless
companies expect to run 5G networks in urban areas “with minimal
restrictions," he said.
Airlines for America, a trade group for the largest US
carriers, said the FAA hasn't approved necessary upgrades and manufacturers
have not yet produced the parts.
“It is not at all clear that carriers can meet what appears
to be an arbitrary deadline,” trade group CEO Nicholas Calio said in a letter
to Nolen. He said safety is jeopardized “by the rushed approach to avionics
modifications amid pressure from the telecommunications companies,” and warned
that if replacement parts aren't ready in time, airline service could be
disrupted.
Verizon said the agreement will let the company lift voluntary
limits on its 5G rollout around airports “in a staged approach over the coming
months.” AT&T said it agreed to take “a more tailored approach” to
controlling the strength of signals near runways so airlines have more time to
retrofit equipment.
Friday's developments were the latest in a long-running
dispute between airlines and wireless companies and their respective
regulators, the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission, which determined
that C-Band service posed no risk to planes.
Verizon and AT&T spent $68 billion between them at an FCC auction of 5G spectrum last year. The companies began activating new 5G networks in January but agreed to delay powering up some towers for six months, until July 5, because of concerns raised by the FAA and airlines.
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