Tensions rose ahead of today’s planned launch by AT&T and Verizon of new 5G service using the C-band licenses they won at FCC auction last year. The aviation industry has warned that the 5G rollout could cause chaos for U.S. air travel — in the midst of continuing pandemic-related flight cancellations.
On Sunday, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg rejected a New Year’s Eve plea from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the FAA to delay the launch by no more than two weeks, reported Reuters. The air travel regulators said they would use that time to identify priority airports, notify flights, and line up alternate methods of compliance, noted The Verge.
The carriers reiterated proposed mitigation measures for the first six months of this year to avoid potential interference with aviation instruments, but rejected pleas for more stringent controls or delays. Stankey and Vestberg said the Transportation Department proposal would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks.”
The exclusion zones that AT&T and Verizon propose around airports are similar to those currently used in France, the carriers said, “with slight adaptation” reflecting “modest technical differences in how C-band is being deployed.” The carrier executives said the mitigations would include “extensive exclusion zones around the runways at certain airports,” reported The Hill. AT&T and Verizon said the protections would remain effective until July 5.
But the FAA says what the carriers have proposed is not the same as how the French use 5G on the band. FAA officials told Reuters that France uses spectrum for 5G that’s further away from spectrum used for radio altimeters and uses lower power levels for 5G than those authorized in the United States.
Government and industry officials said the proposed exclusion zones are not as large as those being requested by the FAA. The FAA and Buttigieg on Friday proposed identifying priority airports “where a buffer zone would permit aviation operations to continue safely while the FAA completes its assessments of the interference potential.”
The wireless industry said it hopes its proposal will avoid escalation in “other venues.” That refers to an emergency petition from the aviation industry before the FCC to stop the 5G operations. On Sunday, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she’s optimistic that, “by working together we can both advance the wireless economy and ensure aviation safety.”
Commissioner Brendan Carr called the DOT’s New Year’s Eve request “highly irregular.”
The FAA said on Sunday it was reviewing the latest proposals and “U.S. aviation safety standards will guide our next actions.” There was no update on Monday as of Inside Tower’s deadline.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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