Full 5G C-band implementation delayed a year, but airlines will need to upgrade equipment

Remember the 5G C-band dispute from this past January?

To jog your memory, the dispute occurred when wireless companies and airlines disagreed over the use of 5G C-band signals, which can interfere with airplane instrumentation. At the time, airline CEOs warned of doomsday, foreign airlines canceled some flights to the U.S. and one smaller airport north of Seattle canceled flights for an entire day due to low-visibility conditions that aircraft could previously handle.

They all eventually came to an agreement in January, but this agreement was set to expire on July 5. Now, the Federal Aviation Administration and wireless companies have found a path forward in their ongoing 5G C-band dispute — and the airline industry is not thrilled.

Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.

AT&T and Verizon, which operate the 5G C-band networks in the U.S., have agreed to continue minimizing the impact of 5G C-band signals near airports for another year, until July 2023.

The 5G C-band dispute centers on a key piece of technology found in airliners called a radio altimeter.

A radio (or radar) altimeter is a type of instrument that is used to precisely measure an aircraft’s height above the ground. This type of instrument is essential during low-visibility conditions because the data from it is necessary for pilots to be able to conduct high-precision instrument approaches and even automatic landings, allowing operations to continue even with little to no visibility.

Since the initial (albeit modified) rollout of 5G C-band in January, regional aircraft have been most susceptible to 5G interference. Under this new agreement, the radio altimeters in those aircraft will have to be fitted with radio frequency filters that mitigate the effects of signal interference by the end of this year, the FAA said.

Other aircraft will need to have that work done by next July.

“We believe we have identified a path that will continue to enable aviation and 5G C-band wireless to safely co-exist,” Billy Nolen, acting FAA administrator, said in a statement. “We appreciate the willingness of Verizon and AT&T to continue this important and productive collaboration with the aviation industry.”

Related: What you need to know about 5G interfering with aircraft

However, the airline industry is unhappy with its new deadline.

In a letter to Nolen issued around the same time as the FAA's announcement, the industry's lobbying group, Airlines for America, accused the agency of caving to pressure from the wireless industry. The group said it needs more time for avionics to be developed.

"Any compromise in this area demands careful consideration and rejection of haste," Nicholas Calio, the group's CEO, wrote in the letter.

In a response to Airlines for America, the FAA said that the industry has plenty of time.

"It accurately reflects the realities of the marketplace, as well as the urgency for operators to retrofit their fleets as quickly possible," the FAA said in a statement.