Who will pay for the FAA’s $7bn altimeter mandate?¶
Cellular providers will fund the modifications with hefty rebates.
Details have emerged about a programme to reimburse US operators for the cost of modifying radio altimeters to comply with a rule intended to prevent interference from 5G cellular signals.
Recently released US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents outline a rebate programme paid by cellular providers to defray some of the financial burden placed on the aviation industry.
That burden stems from anew FAA rulerequiring altimeters on essentially all aircraft in the US be replaced or upgraded to meet new performance standards. Those standards are intended to keep the avionics free of interference when cellular providers start using newly available radio spectrum after 30 December 2030.
As a result, US operators (and foreign operators flying to the USA) need to modify some 58,500 altimeters on 40,700 aircraft, the FAA says. At an estimated $80,000-120,000 per unit, the project will cost $4.8-7.1 billion, with US operators shouldering an estimated $3.8-5.6 billion of the load.
It is now clear cellular companies will be on the hook for much of the US operators’ expenses – but not those incurred for non-US operators.
A rule released this month by the FCC, which regulates the USA’s airwaves, requires creating an altimeter-modification rebate programme funded by cellular firms using the new spectrum.
“We estimate the total rebate costs will be between $3.83–$5.71 billion”, including roughly $2.2 billion allocated to US airlines and a maximum $3.5 billion to all other US operators,the FCC rule says.
The programme will be funded 6-12 months after the FCC auctions off the new bandwidth, which it must do by 4 July 2027, says the FAA. Aircraft operators can then “obtain a lump-sum payment to defray the cost” of altimeter and related aircraft modifications.
A third-party clearinghouse will administer the rebate programme and pay claims within 30 days of submissions, the FCC rule adds.
Many programme details remain unsettled. The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will by 6 October release more details in a rebate proposal that will then be open to public comment, the FCC says.
That agency is opening bandwidth in the 3.98-4.2GHz range – the Upper C-Band – to cellular companies as part of push by industry and the US government to expand the USA’s wireless capabilities.
The FAA says those transmissions can interfere with altimeters, which use the nearby 4.2-4.4GHz range. Its new rule mandates altimeters meet specifications to prevent interference.
The FAA requires operators subject to its Part 121 rules (meaning airlines) have altimeters meeting the requirements by 30 December 2030, while other operators will have until 31 October 2034.Subscribe to gain access to all newsAlready have a subscription?Log in.Choose your subscriptionConsidering a corporate subscription?Contact usto find out more.
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