Aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus have now added their voice to the chorus of companies and federal regulators weighing in on growing tensions over 5G launches planned for the C-Band spectrum in the US.
The battle over the deployment of 5G services on C-Band frequencies began as a conflict between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which approved the use of C-Band spectrum by telecom carriers, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which opposed the move over fears that the use of 5G device on that particular bit of airspace could interfere with the altimeters many planes use to enable automated landing procedures.
Since the beginning of the conflict, a growing number of parties have chimed in, including wireless industry group CTIA. The group points to a document it published[1] that claims to show numerous countries around the world already have 5G services deployed on the C-Band spectrum without any dangerous impacts on aircraft flying in their territories. The document was posted on the website[2] CTIA created to tout the safety of 5G deployments.
Despite AT&T and Verizon already having delayed planned 5G deployments over the conflict and the FAA's continued opposition, the FCC and CTIA remain staunch in their belief that C-Band use is safe for flight systems. Five former FCC leaders even authored an open letter[3] supporting their stance and citing the ample investigations that informed the FCC's original approval of the spectrum's use.
Now, it appears the FAA is calling in its own backers, as Reuters reports[4] Boeing and Airbus have sided with the FAA. In a letter to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Boeing[5] CEO Dave Calhoun and Airbus[6] Americas CEO Jeffrey Knittel both urged the Biden administration