Airlines start asking for permanent changes to C-band 5G

The airline industry has begun petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to make permanent changes to the operation of some 5G networks around airports. At the heart of the issue are 5G transmissions near airports in the C-band spectrum. Although regulators have contemplated such operations in the C-band spectrum for years, the airline industry conducted a major public relations push against those transmissions in 2021, under the argument that 5G transmissions in the C-band spectrum could interfere with some aircraft altimeters and potentially cause airplane crashes. After months of back-and-forth on the topic, AT&T and Verizon agreed in early 2022 to curtail their 5G deployments in the C-band spectrum around airports to address the airline industry's concerns. Those restrictions were initially intended to last six months, but they will now stretch into 2023. The airline industry is asking the FCC to make some of those temporary restrictions permanent. However, coverage may be restricted around some airports where there are concerns about 5G interference with aircraft altimeters. The FCC, for its part, is considering new rules around receivers that would allow the agency to proactively go after devices – like aircraft altimeters – that work outside the agency's parameters.