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The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it has reached an agreement with Verizon and AT&T on a way to expand 5G cellular service and allow more planes to land safely at airports around the country and cool a heated dispute between wireless providers and airlines.
At issue were concerns from airlines and the FAA that a planned nationwide 5G expansion would threaten flight safety. The next-generation 5G service, which provides much faster access to the Internet, uses C-band frequencies close to the part of the airwaves used by key security devices.
One day before the planned expansion last week, AT&T and Verizon agree to compromise: They would continue to deploy, but would not enable 5G within two miles of some airport runways, following a request from the aviation industry. The FAA’s announcement on Friday suggested that all parties were moving towards a more permanent solution.
The FAA said in a statement that it “appreciates the strong communication and collaboration” of wireless companies, which it says provides more precise data on the location of wireless transmitters and helps a deeper analysis of how 5G signals interact with sensitive aircraft. instruments.
“The FAA used this data to determine if it was possible to safely and more precisely map the size and shape of areas around airports where 5G signals were attenuated, and shrink areas where wireless operators have delayed antenna activations,” the agency said. “This will enable wireless providers to securely unlock more towers as they deploy the new 5G service in major markets in the United States.”
Verizon and AT&T declined to comment on the FAA’s statement. Airlines for America, an aviation trade group representing the nation’s largest air carriers, welcomed the development.
“While there is still a lot of work to be done, continued collaboration between the FAA, the aerospace industry and telecom companies is helping to safely reduce disruptions to air travel and shipping as additional 5G towers are enabled.” “We look forward to achieving a more efficient and permanent solution that will enable the United States to continue to lead the world in aviation security while simultaneously expanding our country’s 5G network.”
Wireless providers have spent billions of dollars accessing airwaves for 5G services, reflecting the importance of next-generation networking to their business goals. The implementation was scheduled to begin in late December, but has been delayed multiple times due to concerns from the aviation industry.
Airlines and the FAA were particularly concerned that 5G could interfere with readings from radio altimeters, devices that determine the distance between aircraft and the ground. Such measurements are particularly important to pilots in low visibility situations and are also used in other critical systems on some aircraft.
President Biden praised AT&T and Verizon last week for agreeing to delay deployment near major airports, saying the compromise would allow more than 90 percent of planned service expansion to continue. Since then, the FAA has cleared an estimated 90 percent of the US commercial aircraft fleet to land safely where the next-generation 5G is deployed.
David McCabe contributing reporting.
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