‘Frustrated’ AT&T delays 5G rollout near some airports after airlines warned of flight cancellations
A Southwest Airlines plane approaches to land at San Diego International Airport as U.S. telecom companies, airlines and the FAA continue to discuss the potential impact of 5G wireless services on aircraft electronics in San Diego, California, January 6, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
AT&T on Tuesday said it would delay deployment of 5G service at towers near some U.S. after airlines warned that the rollout would cause flight cancellations.
The statement came just hours after the Biden administration said it was in talks with telecom companies, government agencies and airlines about the dispute.
AT&T and Verizon are scheduled to begin the 5G rollout on Wednesday. AT&T said it would temporarily delay deploying the 5G technology while it worked with federal regulators on a solution.
The 5G C-Band service sits next to frequencies used by key instruments modern aircraft and the FAA had warned it could interfere with those systems, such as radio altimeters.
“At our sole discretion we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to Aiprovide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years they’ve had to responsibly plan for this deployment. We are frustrated by the FAA’s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner. We are launching our advanced 5G services everywhere else as planned with the temporary exception of this limited number of towers,” AT&T said in a statement.
AT&T didn’t say how many airports were affected and how long the delays would last.
Verizon and the FAA didn’t immediately comment.
