The United States is proposing a new safety protocol that would require passenger and cargo aircraft in the country to have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early next year.
The proposal from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) comes after concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters led to disruptions at some US airports earlier this year.
Altimeters provide aviation operators with data on a plane’s height above the ground, which is crucial for bad-weather landings.
The proposed directive, which would take effect in February 2024, is similar to one that took effect in December 2021, which prohibits passenger and cargo flight operations in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless transmitters unless they are approved by the FAA.
US network operators Verizon and AT&T in June voluntarily agreed to delay some C-Band 5G usage until July this year as airlines work to retrofit airplanes to prevent interference.
However, some international airlines have privately expressed reluctance to install filters absent a legal requirement from the FAA, according to reports.
Wireless group CTIA said “the FAA’s schedule for altimeter updates is reasonable and practical. 5G in the C-band coexists safely with air traffic.”
In October, acting FAA director Billy Nolen sought a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators over aviation safety concerns.
In an official letter, Nolen urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mandate the voluntary mitigations AT&T and Verizon had agreed to earlier this year to 19 smaller telecoms and other spectrum holders.
Last year, airline CEOs had warned of a potential “catastrophic aviation crisis” that 5G could cause. They claim that it could render a significant number of aircraft unusable, causing chaos for U flights and potentially stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
