Six former FCC chairs don’t agree with how the FAA’s handling the dispute with the FCC over 5G wireless use of C-band. Republicans Ajit Pai and Michael Powell joined with Tom Wheeler, Mignon Clyburn, Julius Genachowski and Michael Copps detailed their concerns to current FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Acting Administrator Evelyn Remaley.
In a letter, they chide the FAA for going public about its talks with the FCC over its C-band interference concerns. “The FAA should work with the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to assess and resolve the FAA’s concerns expeditiously, but this debate should not be fought publicly in a way that undermines consumer confidence in the process, nor should it require months of additional delay,” they write, referencing the concessions offered by AT&T and Verizon.
The carriers agreed to delay their 5G operations on C-band for a month, until January, and operate at lower power for six months around airports to mitigate the FAA’s concerns over potential interference to aviation radio altimeters. The FCC also put in place an unusually large 220 MHz guard band between C-band operations and radio altimeters.
“The FCC has long worked collaboratively on spectrum management with NTIA. The process is designed to surface and resolve precisely the types of interference issues being raised here and to do so well in advance of licensing and service launch,” they write. The process also provides federal government spectrum users a path to raise — and defend with reliable data — interference concerns due to transitioning spectrum to new uses, according to the former agency chairs.
The former FCC chairs noted that at the end of this process, the agency reaches a decision that reflects all stakeholder and technical expert input on the effective transition of spectrum, “to ensure that new systems do not cause interference.” They point out: “In turn, this process gives wireless companies the confidence needed to invest in networks.”
“The FAA threatens to derail the reasoned conclusions reached by the FCC after years of technical analysis,” they state. The former agency chairs encourage all stakeholders to work together toward a swift resolution “and to ensure these surprises do not become a recurring feature of American spectrum management in the future.”
Asked her thoughts on the on-going talks between the FCC and the FAA this week, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressed appreciation for the bipartisan support for the FCC process and its engineering. “I’m optimistic we’ll find a solution [for 5G on C-band] quickly and safely,” she told reporters after Tuesday’s monthly meeting.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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