The battle between the US aviation industry and the telecommunications giants: 5G mobile services have become a "roadblock"

The U.S. aviation industry and the telecommunications industry quarreled.

U.S. telecom giants AT&T and Verizon were originally scheduled to deploy new 5G mobile services in the 46 largest urban areas in the United States starting January 5, but this plan encountered the "roadblock" of the US aviation industry. The latter asked the former to postpone the deployment plan on security grounds, but the former quickly responded with a refusal.

The two industries have their own opinions. In a December 30, 2021 petition, American Airlines said the industry could lose more than $1 billion while disrupting the travel of millions of passengers if disruptions to deploy 5G services prevent airports from operating properly. Telecom companies, which paid a full $81 billion in auctions to access key bands for 5G services, are also eager to upgrade their networks as soon as possible.

On friday evening (December 31, 2021), the evening of friday, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Commissioner Steve Dickson asked AT&T and Verizon to delay their commercial deployment for no longer than two weeks.

On Jan. 2, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg made their decision public in a joint letter, refusing to delay the deployment of their 5G services but agreeing to negotiate with the aviation industry to suspend deployments for six months near selected airports.

The aviation industry is worried about disruption

Recently, the aviation industry has been signaling concerns about the deployment of new 5G services.

In early December 2021, the FAA outlined airworthiness directives after the launch of new 5G wireless services, which will take effect as soon as January 5. The directive will limit a range of operations for pilots, including automatic landing and other cockpit systems commonly used in bad weather. This is to avoid possible interference from the C-band spectrum range of 5G.

Aviation industry groups warn that such flight restrictions could have "devastating effects." In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dated Nov. 18, 2021, they said: "Air cargo and commercial air travel may be forced to stop at night, as well as in all weather conditions where pilots cannot see the runway." ”

Scott Kirby, chief executive of United Airlines, said the FAA's 5G directive would also ban the use of radio altimeters at about 40 of the nation's largest airports. This device is used to measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground, providing information to the cockpit safety system to avoid crashes and prevent airborne collisions.

That same month, the CEOs of Boeing and Airbus, the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, also called for the U.S. government to delay the launch of a new 5G mobile service. The letter cites research by the trade group Airlines for America that if the FAA's 5G rules go into effect, at worst, about 345,000 passenger and 5,400 cargo flights will face delays, diversions or cancellations each year.

In fact, last November, AT&T and Verizon already made compromises for the aviation industry, such as reducing the power of their 5G signals and postponing the start of deployment from December 2021 to January 5 this year.

But airline industry groups say the measures are not enough. Boeing and Airbus say their proposal is to limit cellular transmission capabilities around airports and other important areas.

CTIA, a U.S. wireless industry group, said 5G is safe and accused the aviation industry of creating fear and distorting the facts. Meredith Attwell Baker, the group's chief executive, said: "Delays can cause real harm. Delaying deployment for a year would reduce economic growth by $50 billion. ”

Telecom companies: France is OK, why is the US not OK?

Companies like AT&T and Verizon are leading the construction of 5G networks in the United States, which means they need to pay for the massive upfront investments on their own. Terry Miller, director of the Heritage Foundation's International Economic and Trade Center, told First Financial Reporter earlier: "There are indeed sunk costs in this period, but large companies have the ability to cover these investments, and there is a high probability that there will be a good return on profits in the future." ”

But now, these big companies are getting in the way. In their open letter, Stankey and Wehrhans said delaying the deployment of new 5G services would "hurt millions of our consumer, business and government customers." Their companies have invested billions of dollars in 50 metropolises representing much of the U.S. population, they write, and that the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA's proposals imply that telecom companies should hand over oversight of those investments to the FAA for an indefinite period of time.

The two companies said they have invested huge costs for the launch of this 5G mobile service. Initially, AT&T, Verizon and other telcos bid more than $80 billion on the C-band spectrum. Subsequently, with the encouragement of the FCC, in order to put it into use as soon as possible, they paid billions of dollars to speed up the migration of satellite companies that had previously specialized in using these frequencies. In 2021, the two companies also paid billions of dollars to buy necessary equipment and lease tower space.

"Our thousands of employees have been working non-stop for months to prepare to enable this spectrum. Thousands more employees are trained to engage with customers as new spectrum is put into use. Both said.

Stanki and Wehrhans eventually proposed that, in a spirit of cooperation, for a six-month period from January 5 to July 5, 2022, the two telecom companies would voluntarily adopt a more conservative approach to the use of C-band spectrum, which is to carve out some radio exclusion zones in the C-band. This approach is almost the same as the current path in France.

"U.S. aircraft currently fly in and out of France on a daily basis and are fully approved by the FAA. France therefore offers a realistic example of an operating environment in which 5G and aviation safety can coexist. The laws of physics are the same in the United States and France. "If U.S. airlines are allowed to operate daily flights in France, then under the same operating conditions, they can do the same in the U.S." ”

The aviation industry has not yet responded to the telecom companies' proposals. But last week Airlines for America said it could take to court on Monday if the FCC does not act. The group urged the FCC and the telecommunications industry to work with the FAA and the aviation industry to "enable the rollout of 5G technology while prioritizing safety and avoiding any disruption to aviation systems."

An FCC spokesperson said on Sunday that the agency was "optimistic that by working together, we can both advance the wireless economy and ensure aviation safety."