Following its participation at a related House transportation subcommittee hearing last week, the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) this week launched fresh fire at both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and wireless industry representatives over the continuing quagmire regarding 5G C-band aircraft radar altimeter interference and related safety issues.
Via a scorching letter to subcommittee chairman Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington), ALPA president Joe DePete wrote, “Given that the agency legally tasked with oversight of the telecommunications industry [the FCC] completely failed to provide critical information relevant to the safety of the U.S. airspace system and voluntary dialogue by private sector companies did not begin until the precise time their actions posed catastrophic harm to public safety, it is clear there is a systemic failure of governance over the wireless industry’s use of spectrum, disclosure of information, and licensing. This necessitates a redesign of the government’s authority over these providers, including granting affected agencies, like the FAA, authority to reject or modify new or expanded spectrum applications, as well as the ability to directly interact with the FCC.”
DePete noted that the “FCC not only failed to heed our concerns, but they willfully neglected to carry out their regulatory responsibilities and ask licensees for critical data needed to plan for launching 5G while maintaining aviation safety. This failure on the part of the FCC has resulted in uncertainty, complexity, and increased workload for every flight.” DePete maintained that the FCC never asked the wireless industry for the data needed to conduct the safety risk mitigation assessment. He noted that the cost of retrofitting commercial aircraft with interference-resistant radar altimeters would easily cost $100,000 to $150,000 per aircraft and the FAA could take up to four years to approve this new equipment.
But DePete’s harshest comments were reserved for CTIA, an organization that represents wireless carriers in Washington, D.C. He accused it of providing an “inadequate level of meaningful data” to “evaluate the 5G signal impact on radar altimeters” and said CTIA ignored aviation safety concerns. “It appears that [5G C-band carriers] Verizon and AT&T are beginning to understand the need to share data for the advancement of [aviation] safety, even if their trade association, CTIA, does not.”
DePete warned that new stresses on the national airspace system could exacerbate the 5G problem going forward. “As we look forward to new entrants to the aviation system—remotely piloted aircraft systems and drones, advanced air mobility, hypersonic aircraft, and commercial space operations—we need to make sure that these entities are also not impacted by 5G interference. A thorough review and risk mitigation of the systems used by these stakeholders is also needed before allowing 5G in the C-Band to continue expansion.”