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Verizon and AT&T announced Tuesday that they will delay the deployment of 5G near some airports after the airline industry warned of “catastrophic disruptions” to flights if telecommunications moves forward with full rollout of the service on Wednesday.
The two companies said they would work with regulators to allay fears that airlines’ 5G signals would interfere with aircraft electronics such as automatic landing systems.
“As the nation’s leading wireless provider, we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network at airports,” Verizon said in a statement. “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our nation’s airlines have not fully figured out 5G navigating airports despite being safe and fully operational in more than 40 countries.”
President Biden praised AT&T and Verizon and promised that the administration would engage with leaders from the aerospace and telecom industries to chart a path forward.
“My team is working seamlessly with wireless carriers, airlines, and aerospace equipment manufacturers to chart a forward-looking roadmap for the secure co-existence of 5G deployment and aviation – and at my direction, they will continue to do so until we do. Close the remaining gap. and reach a permanent, viable solution around these important airports.”
US telecom companies have twice previously delayed the rollout of the 5G mobile network, which is expected to bring faster speeds and more reliable service. It was originally scheduled to be released on December 5th.
In a recent warning to Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg, airline CEOs said “immediate response is needed to prevent significant operational disruptions to air travelers, shippers, the supply chain and the delivery of essential medical supplies.”
Airlines have asked Verizon and AT&T to delay flipping the switch on towers located within two miles of airports that have not been cleared by the FAA.
The announcement from Verizon and AT&T met with airlines part of the way.
The airlines said it was not worth compromising on security and would have to make the flights over land if the Biden administration did not intervene.
“Unfortunately, this will result in not only hundreds of thousands of flight cancellations and disruptions for customers in the industry in 2022, but also the suspension of cargo flights to these locations and a negative ripple effect on the already fragile supply chain,” United said. Airlines said in a statement. “We’re asking the Biden administration to act quickly and apply common sense solutions here that have clearly worked well around the world.”
United said up to 15,000 flights could be affected if it happens on Wednesday.
“Given the short time frame and the urgency of this completely avoidable economic disaster, we respectfully ask for your support and ask you to take whatever action is necessary to ensure the deployment of 5G, except where the towers are too close to airport runways, until the FAA determines how that could happen. . Airline executives wrote in a letter to Mr Buttigieg and FAA executives on Sunday.
The FAA said earlier on Sunday that it allows about 45% of commercial aircraft to make “low-vision landings at many airports where the 5G C-band will be deployed on Jan.
“Even with these new approvals, flights at some airports may be affected,” the FAA said. “The FAA also continues to work with manufacturers to understand how radar altimeter data is used in other flight control systems.”
After spending more than $81 billion on FCC service licenses in February, US cellular providers are struggling a bit this week to light up the new frequency.
Verizon and AT&T have delayed the rollout of the new service for a month after the FAA issued a last-minute warning that base station emissions near airports could interfere with aircraft automatic landing systems and altimeters that indicate an aircraft’s altitude.
Top trade group for the airline industry, airlines to america, then made an urgent request to the Federal Communications Commission to delay the presentation once again until January 19.
In a joint statement last month from trade groups representing the two sectors, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and airlines to america, and the Aerospace Industries Association announced that they will “work together to share available data from all parties to identify specific areas of concern for aviation.”
But airline executives say they need more time, and an early submission could spell disaster for airlines.
“Despite recent collaboration and data sharing between the telecommunications industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation industry, commercial aviation in the United States faces major disruptions to travel and shipping public opinion based on our assessment of data and controversy. “Airline executives continue to address the issue of how best to deploy 5G ‘C-band’ securely at US airports,” he said.
Cell phone providers say fears about 5G zapping flight altimeters and automated systems that help planes land have been exaggerated, and timely rollout of the technology is “critical to US global leadership.”
Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, said in a November article that further delay could lead to real harm. He said a one-year delay would cut $50 billion in economic growth, “just as our nation is recovering from the pandemic and rebuilding.
Brinksmanship sent shock waves around the world. Several European countries have begun to study 5G emissions near airports in response to concerns voiced by the US aviation industry.
But Steffen Ring, a telecommunications consultant in Copenhagen working on the European Commission’s 5G rollout, said that while the European Union’s presentation was good, cell service upgrades do not pose a problem for flight safety across the Atlantic. continues.
Mr Ring said concerns were raised about possible 5G interference with aircraft, possibly in response to the back and forth on the issue in the United States, as delegates from all over Europe met for a plenary session in November.
There was little to discuss.
“No one made a sound,” he said. “There was absolute silence in the room. Forty-eight countries were participating, and there was absolute silence in the hall.”
He said there are no plans to slow distribution in Europe. And he thinks further pauses in the US would be overkill.
“Unless there is solid evidence, everything is proceeding according to plan,” he said. “The European Commission is very enthusiastic about this progress.”
• This story is partially based on wire service reports.
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