WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that Verizon Communications and AT&T have voluntarily agreed to postpone some C-Band 5G usage until July 2023 while airlines work to retrofit planes to avoid interference.
In January, the two carriers agreed to postpone the activation of some wireless towers and the deactivation of others near airports until July 5. Verizon announced on Friday that the new agreement will allow it to “lift the voluntary limitations on our 5G network deployment around airports in a staged approach over the coming months,” allowing “even more consumers and businesses to benefit from the tremendous capabilities of 5G technology.”
AT&T stated that it had “developed a more tailored approach to controlling signal strength around runways that allows us to activate more towers and increase signal strength” in collaboration with the FAA. AT&T went on to say that it had voluntarily “chosen in good faith to implement these more tailored precautionary measures so that airlines have more time to retrofit equipment.”
Concerns that the 5G service might interfere with aeroplane altimeters, which provide data on a plane’s height above the ground and are critical for bad-weather landings, caused delays at some US airports earlier this year.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been urging airlines to complete retrofits of some aeroplane radio altimeters in recent months. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen urged the CEOs of major U.S. airlines on Wednesday to act quickly to address risks from a 5G wireless rollout by installing filters on radio altimeters, in order to avoid potential disruptions at key airports beginning next month.
