You may remember months ago when a dispute between airlines and telecommunications companies became a hot topic. That dispute was of course about the risk 5G C-Band could have on aircraft landing tools. As the U.S. looks to deploy more spectrum for faster wireless communications, this topic may soon be back in the spotlight.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is in place to mediate disputes related to spectrum allocation. Earlier this year, they simply stood by while tensions grew with other agencies and the U.S. aviation system was essentially at a standstill.
“The process fell apart,” Tim Farrar, a technology consultant who leads his own firm, Telecom Media Finance Associates Inc., said. “Nobody talked to anybody.”
The FAA’s mother agency, the Transportation Department, in late 2020 circulated a letter seeking a delay in moves to allow the new 5G service. The NTIA didn’t act.
“We fully expected the NTIA to send our comments to the FCC,” Diana Furchtgott-Roth, the senior Transportation Department official responsible for radio spectrum issues at the time, said in an interview.
Adam Candeub, the NTIA acting administrator at the time, said the FAA’s concerns weren’t forwarded because NTIA experts had found no substance to the concerns.
In coming months, the agency will serve as referee as commercial operators seek access to frequencies that are now used by Navy and Army radars. These radars track targets or artillery fire and launch points for missiles.
Officials will be working with the Pentagon to determine which frequencies can be relinquished, and which can be shared with commercial operators, possibly with restrictions on signal power or hours of use. A decision is expected by next year.
“I think part of the bigger lessons learned that I’ve pulled out of the 5G effort is talk early and then talk early and talk some again,” Michael Weiler, group manager of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Spectrum Engineering Services division, said Wednesday at a webinar sponsored by the nonprofit government advisory group RTCA Inc.
The NTIA hasn’t been the most stable recently due to cycling through five leaders in the final 20 months of Trump’s presidency. In an effort to improve the agency’s performance, the Biden administration pledged to assist. In February, the agency joined the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a pact to improve coordination — and avoid confrontations such as the dispute with the FAA.
The 5G experience shows the need for cooperation before controversy arises, said Steve Dickson, the former FAA administrator who left the agency at the end of March.
“We’ve just got to work together to make sure that we have smoother roll-outs going forward,” Dickson added. “This won’t be the last spectrum issue that we encounter.”
Alan Davidson, the Biden administration’s NTIA leader, and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel have already begun work on this objective. March 29 was the first of their meetings, and they will likely have one a month from this point. In a recent statement, they said they would work together on a task that requires “clear communication, open doors, thoughtful listening, and mutual respect.”
In addition to their improvements, the NTIA and FCC are talking about forming a national spectrum strategy in effort to avoid these issues. They will examine stricter standards for receivers that would focus devices such as aircraft navigation systems on a tighter band and reduce conflicts.
