PILOT UNION REQUESTS EXTENSION OF FULL 5G ROLLOUT
June 22, 2022
On April 28, 2022, the Air Line Pilots Association (“ALPA”) issued a statement calling for the further delay of 5G towers near certain airports that are planned to be restored to full power, and asking the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to ensure that 5G towers near 50 designated airports are not allowed to restore full power in July 2022 as currently scheduled by amending telecom companies’ licenses to require them to continue to limit 5G frequencies around affected airports.
As you may recall, a few months ago U.S. telecom companies Verizon and AT&T agreed to voluntary restrictions, including an agreement to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as the companies continued to work with the aviation industry and FAA to determine ways for airplane equipment and 5G signals to coexist safely. This agreement allowed for the companies to be able to rollout 5G frequencies in the U.S. in all areas outside of the 50 designated airports or “buffer zones” on January 19, 2022, while limiting 5G frequencies around the 50 designated airports. Since the rollout, 5G equipment has been operated at a lower power than usual near these areas, and 5G signals have been restricted around landing runways at the affected airports during the last 20 seconds of flight.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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