Why AT&T and Verizon delayed 5G services near airports

Photo: Christopher Flaten / Pexels

AT&T and Verizon will delay launching new wireless service near airports after the nation’s largest airlines said service could interfere with aircraft technology and cause massive flight disruptions.

The decision by the telecommunications companies came on Tuesday as the government of President Joe Biden tried to negotiate an agreement between the companies and the airlines on the rollout of the new 5G service, scheduled for this Wednesday.

The airlines want the new service to be prohibited within three kilometers

of airport runways.

AT&T said it would delay powering up new cell towers around some airport runways, however no did he mention how many or for how long, and that it would work with federal regulators to resolve the dispute.

Shortly thereafter, Verizon said it will launch its 5G network, but added: “We have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports.” The company pointed to airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they hadn’t been able to figure out 5G navigation around airports, though it’s working on more than 40 countries.

The announcements occurred after the sector of airlines issued a warning about the impact a new type of 5G service would have on flights.

The CEOs of the largest airlines in the country said that the interference with the systems of the aircraft would be worse than originally thought, which would make many flights impossible.

“To be blunt, the nation’s commerce will come to a halt” unless service is shut down near major airports, the CEOs said in a letter they delivered Monday to federal officials, including the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, President Joe Biden mentioned that the AT&T and Verizon agreements “will prevent potentially devastating disruptions for passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery, while allowing more than 80% of the deployment of the wireless towers is carried out as planned”.

The president said the administration will continue to work with both parties to reach a permanent solution around key airports.

The new wireless service High-speed radio uses a segment of the radio spectrum, the C band, that is close to that used by altimeters, which are devices that measure the height of aircraft above the ground. Altimeters are used to help pilots land when visibility is poor, and are linked to other systems airlines.

AT&T and Verizon claim that their equipment does not interfere with aircraft electronics and that the technology is used safely in many other countries.

However, the CEOs of 10 passenger airlines and cargo, including American, Delta, United and Southwest, claim that 5G will be more damaging than previously thought , because dozens of large airports that were going to have buffer zones to avoid 5G interference with planes will continue to be subject to the flight restrictions announced last week by the FAA. They also point out that these restrictions will not be limited to times when visibility is poor.

The airlines warned that on a day like Tuesday with sub-zero temperatures, more than 1,160 flights and close to 100,01 passengers could be affected by cancellations, diversions or delays in their flights .

A dispute between regulators

The airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) claim they have tried to raise alarm bells about possible 5G C-band interference, but the FCC has ignored them.

The showdown between two industries and their rival regulators, the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission, which is in charge of supervising the radio spectrum, threatens to further disrupt the aviation sector, which has been plagued by the pandemic for almost two years.

Faced with the concerns of the airlines, the telecommunications companies initially agreed to delay the service until the beginning of January.

However, at the end of On New Year’s Eve, Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson asked the companies for another delay, warning of an “unacceptable interruption” of air service.

AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg rejected the request in a letter. But, following intervention from the White House, the CEOs agreed to a second, shorter delay in 5G service, but they hinted that there would be no more commitments.

In that agreement, telecommunications companies agreed to reduce the power of their networks near 50 airports for six months. In exchange, the FAA and the Department of Transportation promised to no longer oppose the deployment of the 5G C-band.

This Tuesday, President Biden thanked telecommunications companies for accepting the delay once again the deployment of 5G technology in airports and working with the Department of Transportation.

The agreement seeks to protect the safety of flights and allows aviation operations to continue without significant interruptions .

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