AT&T and Verizon push forward on 5G expansion despite FAA concerns over flight safety

Zac Hall | Jan 3 2022 - 7:05 am PT

AT&T and Verizon are going forward with plans to activate additional 5G cellular spectrum. The expansion follows a month-long delay at the request of the Federal Aviation Administration to study how 5G C-Band affects airplane safety equipment.

Reuters reports that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA chief Steve Dickson sought out an additional two-week pause before carriers activated 5G C-Band spectrum. However, executives from both national carriers rejected the request to push back the January 5 activation date.

The wireless companies in a joint letter on Sunday said they would not deploy 5G around airports for six months but rejected any broader limitation on using C-Band spectrum. They said the Transportation Department proposal would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks.”

This back-and-forth between cellular service carriers and the FAA under DOT has been simmering since early November. That’s when the regulatory body that oversees travel safety including flights first raised concerns and sought the initial month-long delay.

5G C-Band spectrum was already granted to AT&T and Verizon and approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Use of this spectrum is also live in Europe, and carrier executives plan to model 5G safety measures around airports in the US after similar practices in other countries.

The exclusion zone AT&T and Verizon propose is currently in use in France, the carriers said, “with slight adaption” reflecting “modest technical differences in how C-band is being deployed.”
“The laws of physics are the same in the United States and France,” the CEOs wrote. “If U.S. airlines are permitted to operate flights every day in France, then the same operating conditions should allow them to do so in the United States.”

As for what happens next, both Verizon and AT&T will bring the initial wave of 5G C-Band spectrum online, making next-gen cellular capabilities competitive with international competitors, and airline safety groups will continue to fight for tougher regulation.