Airlines Want Reimbursement for Retrofitting Gear After Upper C-Band Auction

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2026 – The airline industry thinks it should be reimbursed for the billions it will cost to shield essential plane equipment from interference by wireless carriers in the upper C-band.

Representatives from a major aviation industry group met with top staff at the Federal Communications Commission to make their case Tuesday, according to a filing posted Friday.

The carriers, who would be on the hook for those payments after the spectrum is auctioned next year, don’t like the idea.

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