By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) – Major U.S. airlines will need to retrofit planes by the end of 2030 to address potential wireless interference after a new auction of wireless spectrum, but the carriers will be eligible for as much as $2.2 billion in government rebates to cover the costs, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday.
The FAA is requiring all altimeters to meet next-generation performance requirements to address interference from 5G signals in spectrum that could cause inaccurate readings.
The rebates will be funded by some of the government’s proceeds of the C-Band wireless auction run by the Federal Communications Commission. The FAA estimates the cost at $80,000 to $120,000 per airplane.
Other aircraft will need to be retrofitted by later 2034 and the FAA estimates the total cost of retrofitting civilian airplanes at up to $7.1 billion.
The 2030 deadline covers “flights by the major domestic and international airlines that affect the flying public, have the highest public expectation of safety, perform a significant majority of low-visibility operations that would otherwise be restricted to protect from hazardous interference,” the FAA said.
Foreign operators will not be eligible for rebates. The FAA requirements only apply to airplanes flying in U.S. airspace.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr said this week that the agency and FAA processes “will together provide for the upgrade radio altimeters and provide rebates to support eligible domestic aircraft operators and owners in this effort.”
In 2022, there were brief disruptions at some U.S. airports as international carriers canceled some flights over concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which provide data on a plane’s height above ground and are crucial for bad-weather landings.
The issue was resolved after a voluntary agreement was reached between Verizon, AT&T and major air carriers, but there were other headaches as air carriers have worked to upgrade altimeters.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
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