U.S. officials urge AT&T, Verizon to postpone 5G wireless delay due to aviation security concerns

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were questioned on Friday by AT&T (NYSE 🙂 and Verizon Communications (NYSE 🙂 Delayed entry of new 5G wireless service due on January 5th due to aviation safety concerns.

In a letter to Reuters on Friday, Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asked AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg for a two-week delay, “as part of a proposal, as a short-term solution. 5G coexistence of C-band deployment and safe flight operations “.

The aircraft industry and the FAA have expressed concern about the potential interference of 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics such as radio altimeters that can disrupt flights.

“We urge your companies to continue to suspend the implementation of the C-Band commercial service for a short period of more than two weeks from the scheduled release date of January 5th,” the letter reads.

Rich Young, a Verizon spokesman, said he had received the letter and needed time to review it. AT&T did not immediately comment, but earlier on Friday the two companies accused the aerospace industry of “hijacking” the expansion of the C-Band spectrum “until the wireless industry agrees to cover the costs of upgrading obsolete altimeters.”

Buttigieg and Dickson said the scope was that “commercial C-band service would begin as planned in January with a few exceptions at priority airports.”

The FAA and the aviation industry would identify priority airports “while a buffer zone would allow aviation operations to continue safely while the FAA conducts interference potential assessments.”

The government would work to identify “restrictions on all priority airports” so that “most large commercial aircraft can operate safely under all conditions.” This would allow it to be deployed “around priority airports” – with the aim of ensuring activation by 31 March, except for unforeseen problems.

The carriers, who won the spectrum at a $ 80 billion government auction, had agreed to precautionary measures six months earlier to limit interference.

On Thursday, the Airlines for America trade group called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to suspend the deployment of a new 5G wireless service around many airports, warning that thousands of flights could be disrupted: “The potential damage to the airline industry is staggering.”

The CTIA wireless industry group said 5G is secure and that the spectrum is being used in about 40 other countries.

Home Transport Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio on Friday called for the airline’s request that “we cannot experiment with aircraft safety”.