Source: House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) urged Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to immediately delay deployment of 5G technologies until the aviation safety concerns raised by the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the aviation industry have been adequately addressed. This letter comes on the heels of DeFazio supporting Airlines for America’s filing of an emergency petition with the FCC last week to stay the deployment of 5G.

In his letter, Chair DeFazio wrote: “As you know, on December 31, 2021, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson sent a letter to John Stankey and Hans Vestberg, the chief executive officers of AT&T and Verizon, respectively. The letter proposed, among other things, that the two companies temporarily pause C-band service for an additional two weeks beyond the currently scheduled deployment date of January 5, in order for the FAA to adequately review information regarding the safety mitigations needed at certain priority airports….Unfortunately, despite this reasonable offer, their proposal was summarily rejected.”

Chair DeFazio also dispelled misleading claims FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr made in a letter he sent to Secretary Buttigieg on January 1: “…these other countries have far fewer major airports and much less aviation activity than the U.S. To make this comparison without recognizing the critical differences that exist between the U.S. and every other country that has deployed 5G technology is disingenuous, misleading, and displays a glaring disregard for the potential safety measures needed to protect the flying public.”

DeFazio concluded by writing, “…I implore you to seriously consider the concerns expressed by the DOT, FAA, and the aviation industry and prohibit any 5G broadband transmissions in the C-band until the FAA can adequately assess the risks to aviation safety and put the appropriate mitigations in place.”

The full letter text can be found below and here.