IATA Calls For Clear Global 5G and 6G Safety Band
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is asking the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and national telecommunications regulators to define conditions for 5G and future 6G deployment that avoid interference with radio altimeters and related avionic systems. The request comes as the ITU prepares the studies that will inform decisions at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 (WRC-27). The studies involve national telecom regulators and aviation safety authorities and will establish a long-term framework for using telecom networks in the vicinity of aviation frequencies.
To support the work, IATA has submitted a paper to the ITU WP5B meeting in Geneva in November 2025. The paper sets out operational scenarios and safety requirements that IATA argues must guide future spectrum policy.
The association states that the assessment of telecom deployment plans must be based on actual aircraft operations rather than on modelling that does not align with the range of conditions flight crews encounter.
Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security, says, “The benefits of 5G and 6G can never come at the cost of aviation safety. Spectrum decisions must be based on real-world aircraft operations, not idealised telecommunications industry modelling.
"That means ensuring ITU studies fully reflect the most demanding conditions pilots face.
With input from aviation users, WRC-27 must deliver clear global rules to ensure the safe coexistence of radio altimeters and other safety-critical avionic systems with next-generation telecom networks across all phases of flight.”
Telco Involvement in 5G/6G Spectrum Coordination and Aviation Safety
Telecommunications operators and vendors are key participants in the ongoing dialogue. Major telcos, including network operators in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, are engaging with regulators and aviation groups to refine coexistence parameters ahead of WRC-27.
Their role is central to ensuring that future 5G and 6G deployments align with aviation safety requirements while maintaining service quality and spectrum efficiency.
Many telcos have supported temporary mitigation measures and are now contributing data from network performance trials to inform the ITU’s technical studies on safe coexistence near the 4.2–4.4 GHz band.
Major telecommunications operators such as AT&T and Verizon in the United States, Deutsche Telekom in Europe and NTT in Japan are actively engaging with regulators and aviation authorities to ensure that 5G and upcoming 6G deployments minimise risks to radio altimeters.
These telcos have supported temporary mitigation measures near airports, including power reductions and antenna adjustments and are contributing real-world network data to ITU studies ahead of WRC-27.
Their collaboration is pivotal in shaping technical standards and operational practices that balance advanced wireless service rollouts with the stringent safety requirements of the aviation sector.
The joint effort underscores the importance of cross-industry cooperation to develop globally consistent spectrum policies that safeguard critical aviation navigation systems while enabling telecom innovation.
Spectrum conditions around 5G and 6G deployments near aviation bands
IATA states that spectrum policy must consider events such as take-off, landing, taxi operations and go-arounds, as well as turbulence, windshear and emergency conditions.
Radio altimeters, operating in the 4.2–4.4 GHz band, provide height data for such situations and support a range of automated aircraft systems. The association continues to reinforce the need for a minimum separation of 35 ft (11 m) between aircraft and terrestrial 5G transmitters.
Telecommunications providers in several countries have previously implemented voluntary mitigation measures near airports to reduce the risk of altimeter interference.
The measures include reduced transmission power, exclusion zones along runways and downward-tilting antennas. They were introduced as short-term steps during the national 5G rollouts.
These steps are now nearing expiry in several markets. In Canada, measures are due to lapse on 1 January 2026. In Australia, expiry is set for 1 April 2026.
In the United States, regulators plan to auction the Upper C-Band from 3.98–4.2 GHz, which sits immediately below the 4.2 GHz boundary of the altimeter band.
Existing mitigations in the US are scheduled to be removed in 2028, creating a shift in the operating environment for aircraft approaching busy airspace.
IATA highlights the mitigation gap before new altimeters arrive
While regulators prepare new auction plans and review existing safeguards, airlines face a period in which reducing protections may be necessary until replacement technology becomes available.
Next-generation radio altimeters with improved resistance to 5G signals are not expected to reach commercial fleets before the early 2030s. It does, however, leave gaps between the withdrawal of current mitigations and the arrival of upgraded avionics.
“Current 5G mitigations were never designed as a long-term solution and several will expire within months. At the same time, more resilient radio altimeters will not reach airlines until the next decade.
"That leaves a significant mitigation gap. With new spectrum auctions underway and protections being lifted in key markets, regulators must not assume safety will take care of itself. The industry needs clear, consistent safeguards to bridge the period before new altimeters are available.”
IATA states that the period demands coordination between telecom regulators and aviation authorities so that changes to power levels, antenna patterns and spectrum allocations do not create conditions that airline operators cannot manage.
The association’s position is that telecom networks and aircraft systems can operate alongside each other only when technical studies, equipment performance data and operational factors are all reflected in policy decisions.
The association continues to argue that altimeter protection is central to flight operations under both standard and adverse conditions. It maintains that the studies informing WRC-27 must produce guidance that regulators across all regions can implement without creating different safety thresholds across markets.
