NATA Statement on the FCC’s Auction of Spectrum Posing Potential Radar Altimeter Interference Issues

Despite pleas from NATA and many others in the aviation community, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) proceeded with a December 8th auction of flexible-use overlay licenses for a portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz spectrum band suitable for 5G operations to the telecommunications industry. As late as this week, NATA, along with 14 other leading aviation groups, supported a letter requesting a suspension of the auction to provide time to fully understand the safety implications of this transaction. Extensive study and research by the industry suggests that without mitigation, the deployment of 5G networks in this frequency band may pose safety risks due to radio interference with radar altimeters.

“The safety of our industry is foremost in NATA’s mission and drives everything we do. NATA was pleased to collaborate with and support the efforts of a strong coalition of leading aviation organizations to inform the FCC about the risk to aviation from this significant safety issue. We will continue to monitor the situation and support further research and efforts that help ensure the safety of our airspace system,” stated NATA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs John McGraw.