Verizon, AT&T Offer More C-Band Concessions

Buttigieg sent Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg and AT&T CEO John Stankey a letter Friday warning of widespread flight disruptions if the carriers proceed. “Failure to reach a solution by January 5 will force the U.S. aviation sector to take steps to protect the safety of the traveling public, particularly during periods of low visibility or inclement weather,” the letter said: “These steps will result in widespread and unacceptable disruption as airplanes divert to other cities or flights are canceled, causing ripple effects throughout the U.S. air transportation system.”

“At its core, your proposed framework asks that we agree to transfer oversight of our companies’ multi-billion dollar investment in 50 unnamed metropolitan areas representing the lion’s share of the U.S. population to the FAA for an undetermined number of months or years,” the two CEOs responded Sunday. They offered additional safeguards.

Until July 5, the carriers committed to “adopt the same C-Band radio exclusion zones that are already in use in France, with slight adaptation to reflect the modest technical differences in how C-band is being deployed in the two countries.” The approach, “which is one of the most conservative in the world -- would include extensive exclusion zones around the runways at certain airports.” The effect would be a further reduction of C-band signal levels “by at least 10 times on the runway or during the last mile of final approach and the first mile after takeoff,” they said. Those build on earlier concessions protecting airports (see 2112070047).

Commissioner Brendan Carr tweeted that the C band should be deployed as planned. The Biden administration “is not asking for a 2 week delay; they're demanding an indefinite halt in what appears to be every major market,” Carr said: “DOT's irregular, eleventh hour tactics -- 660 days after the FCC resolved these issues -- do not reflect competent decision making, but gamesmanship.” Carr wrote Buttigieg, saying the letter to the carriers and “the Biden Administration’s actions are needlessly risking America’s global leadership in 5G.”

The Air Line Pilots Association slammed tweets by Carr. (ALPA)'s Monday letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, “One of your members is publicly making light of the very serious safety and operational concerns 5G deployment raises.”

“We are optimistic that by working together we can both advance the wireless economy and ensure aviation safety,” an FCC spokesperson emailed.

New Street’s Philip Burnett sees “some risk that a court will grant a stay to the FAA or the airlines, delaying C-band transmissions at least temporarily,” he told investors Monday.

“The only thing that could hold up the launch is an extremely sympathetic court with an emergency stay,” Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner told us. "Generally, the FCC is viewed as the expert agency and we still have Chevron deference, meaning that the FCC has the benefit of the doubt. The airline industry and the FAA would have to show a lot of evidence, which they have not done yet, to a court to get them to overturn the decision of the expert agency in favor of the not-expert agency on this topic."

“The key question is how much pressure the executive branch” is placing on the Democratic commissioners, said spectrum consultant Tim Farrar. “Rosenworcel has been silent and has now been called out by Carr,” he said: “It’s a tricky issue for her.”

“It's incredible that the Biden administration has not intervened to help get the DOT and the FCC on the same page,” said LightShed’s Walter Piecyk.

FCC Fight

The aviation and wireless industries are also fighting at the FCC.

“Despite the issue of harmful interference to altimeters having been raised by aviation interests, including A4A, since the beginning of the C-band proceeding, the Commission has never provided a reasoned analysis of why it has rejected the evidence submitted by the aviation interests,” A4A said in docket 18-122. “Absent the grant of a stay, the airline industry will suffer irreparable harm,” the group said. The association warned it would seek judicial review unless the FCC acted Monday.

ALPA supported the stay. “Time is short and the action requested by A4A to the Commission is urgently needed, so we ask for your immediate attention and response to this request,” the new filing said. “If people think the COVID and weather-related disruptions over the holidays were a problem, wait until they see what @ATT and @Verizon have in store for them starting on Wednesday,” tweeted Joe DePete, ALPA’s president.

The aviation industry “wants to hold the C-Band hostage until the wireless industry agrees to cover the costs of upgrading any obsolete altimeters that, in the view of some aviation interests, do an abnormally poor job of filtering signals in bands far removed from the 4.2-4.4 GHz aeronautical altimetry band,” AT&T and Verizon said: “The Commission was right when it found that the operational restrictions and spectrum separation set forth in the C-Band Order already fully protect the safety of the flying public, private aircraft, and air transport.”

The two carriers and CTIA jointly opposed a stay. Findings that 5G can safely be deployed in the C band are “unimpeachable today, now that wireless carriers in nearly 40 countries throughout Europe and Asia have fully launched C-Band operations without incident,” they said: “A4A’s threat to seek judicial intervention is empty.”

House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., supports the airlines' “efforts and urges both the aviation and telecom industries to continue working together to find a safe way to deploy 5G technologies. For years … I have urged the FCC to put aviation safety first and thoroughly examine all risks involved. We can’t afford to experiment with aviation safety.” Leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees didn’t comment. Senate Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, last month called for the FCC to pause the C-band rollout (see 2112300041).