The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it had reached an agreement with Verizon and AT&T on a way to expand 5G cellular service while allowing more planes to land safely at national airports, sparking a heated dispute between wireless carriers and airlines. cooled down.
At issue were concerns from airlines and the FAA that a planned 5G nationwide expansion would endanger flight safety. The next-generation 5G service, which provides much faster internet access, uses so-called C-band frequencies, which are close to the part of the airwaves used by key security equipment.
A day before the planned expansion last week, AT&T and Verizon agreed on a compromise: They would go ahead with the rollout, but wouldn’t activate 5G within two miles of some airport runways, according to an airline industry request. The FAA’s announcement on Friday suggested that all sides were moving towards a more lasting solution.
The FAA said in a statement that it appreciates “the strong communication” and collaboration of the wireless companies, which it said has provided more accurate data on the location of wireless transmitters and aided in deeper analysis of how 5G signals interact. with sensitive aircraft instruments.
“The FAA has used this data to determine it is possible to safely and more accurately map the size and shape of the areas around airports where 5G signals are restricted, reducing the areas where wireless operators are delaying their antenna activation. getting smaller,” the agency said. “This will allow wireless carriers to safely turn on more towers while deploying new 5G service in key markets in the United States.”
Verizon and AT&T declined to comment on the FAA’s statement.
Nick Ludlum, the Chief Communications Officer at CTIA, a wireless industry group, said the agreement was “a positive development that highlights the significant progress the wireless industry, the aerospace industry, the FAA and the FCC are making towards a robust 5G.” service and safe flights.”
Airlines for America, a trade group representing the country’s largest airlines, welcomed the development. “While there is still much work to be done, the continued collaboration between the FAA, the airline industry and the telecoms companies is helping to safely reduce air traffic and shipping disruptions as additional 5G towers are activated,” it said. “We look forward to achieving a more efficient permanent solution that will allow the US to remain the global leader in aviation safety while expanding our country’s 5G network.”
Wireless carriers have spent billions of dollars accessing ether for their 5G service, reflecting the importance of the next-generation network to their business aspirations. The rollout was set to begin in late December, but was delayed several times due to concerns from the airline industry.
Airlines and the FAA were particularly concerned that 5G could interfere with the measurements of radio altimeters, devices that measure the distance between aircraft and the ground. Such measurements are especially important for pilots when visibility is poor and are used in other critical systems in some aircraft.
President Biden last week praised AT&T and Verizon for agreeing to postpone deployments near major airports last week, saying the compromise still allows more than 90 percent of the planned service expansion to go through. Since then, the FAA has cleared an estimated 90 percent of the U.S. fleet of commercial aircraft to land safely where the next-generation 5G is deployed.
David McCabe contributed reporting.
