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In a co‑authored opinion piece, Chris Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America and former governor of New Hampshire, and Ajit Pai, president and CEO of CTIA and former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, say a recent agreement between aviation and wireless industries shows how Washington can avoid the kind of bitter policy fights that stalled service and raised safety concerns in 2021.
From 2021 dispute to a negotiated solution
The authors recall a 2021 breakdown in coordination between the aviation and wireless sectors that produced “alarming headlines and congressional hearings” over fears that new wireless signals could interfere with aircraft altimeters. That episode, they write, led to flight delays and delayed wireless rollouts before the parties eventually resolved the issue.
Sununu and Pai say regulators and industry have applied lessons from that episode to a new set of airwaves near aviation frequencies known as the Upper C‑Band, which the Federal Communications Commission is preparing to auction. Rather than repeat last decade’s public acrimony, they write, aviation and wireless stakeholders worked directly with the FAA and the FCC to resolve potential interference questions well before commercial networks are switched on.
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How the parties say they reached agreement
The op‑ed lays out several elements the authors credit for the outcome. They say both sides began from a shared principle — “aviation safety comes first.” After that, they describe engineers from the two industries meeting with FAA and FCC experts, sharing data, challenging assumptions and testing models until they reached consensus on technical and operational safeguards.
Sununu and Pai attribute an active role to the White House and to the Trump administration for convening stakeholders and sustaining engagement. They specifically name Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr as leaders who, according to the piece, kept the process focused and moving.
Claims about safety, timing and economic benefits
According to the op‑ed, the Federal Aviation Administration expects next‑generation altimeters to be roughly 200 times better at preventing potential interference than current equipment, and airlines will receive that safer equipment up to six times faster than they otherwise would — at no cost to carriers or passengers, the authors write.
The authors also argue the Upper C‑Band allocation is important for wireless capacity. Citing a warning from consultancy Accenture, they say some future artificial‑intelligence demand could go unmet without more spectrum, and that resolving Upper C‑Band early will make those airwaves available for deployment in time to meet market needs in 2030.
Broader lesson, and attribution
Sununu and Pai describe the process as a model for reducing Washington gridlock: bring affected industries and responsible agencies together early, keep the White House engaged to ensure accountability, and let data drive decisions. They frame the result as a win for aviation safety, for stronger communications networks and for U.S. technological leadership.
The perspective and technical claims in the piece are presented by the authors and are attributed within the op‑ed to agencies and organizations such as the FAA and Accenture; the article does not present independent verification of those figures.
Chris Sununu is president and CEO of Airlines for America and served as governor of New Hampshire from 2017 to 2025. Ajit Pai is president and CEO of CTIA and served as chairman of the FCC from 2017 to 2021.
