A contract team from Verizon installs 5G telecommunications equipment on a tower in Orem, Utah, US on December 3, 2019.
George Frey | Reuters
Verizon and AT&T said late on Monday that it had agreed to a two-week delay in the rollout of C-Band wireless spectrum, averting an aviation safety situation that threatens to disrupt flights starting this week. .
Carriers have faced pressure from the White House, airlines and airline associations to delay the rollout amid concerns about 5G’s potential for interference with sensitive electronics. aircraft such as radio altimeters can disrupt flights.
The deal pushes back the rollout date to January 19. Verizon says the delay “promises with certainty giving this country our game-changing 5G network in January.” AT&T said it had agreed to the delay at the request of Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“We know aviation safety and 5G can coexist, and we are confident that further technical review and cooperation will resolve any issues,” the company said.
Over the next two weeks, regulators, airlines and wireless service providers will consider ways to reduce the potential impact of interference on flight operations.
Earlier, on Monday, groups representing US airlines, aircraft manufacturers and airports urged the White House to intervene to delay the use of the C-Band by operators. provides wireless service for 5G, which carriers won in a government auction worth $80 billion.
The delay comes after AT&T and Verizon executives on Sunday denied a request to delay the planned introduction of a new 5G wireless service on January 5 because of safety concerns. no, but suggest that new protective measures be put in place temporarily.
Buttigieg and Federal Aviation Administration Director Steve Dickson asked AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg on Friday about a delay of up to two weeks.
In December, the FAA warned that interference from the planned use of 5G wireless spectrum poses an aviation safety risk and could lead to flight diversion. But it has yet to make official announcements that will be more explicit about the size of the potential impact.
Sara Nelson, president of the Flight Attendants Association-CWA, which represents 50,000 flight attendants at 17 airlines, said on Twitter that “if the medication is delayed to the hospital and home,” Verizon will be responsible.
“If passengers are stranded, thank @Verizon,” Nelson said. “Their driving force is money. Our motivation is safety. It’s the purest form of profit compared to humans.”
The wireless companies on Sunday said they would not roll out 5G around airports for six months but dismissed any broader limits on the use of C-Band spectrum. The no-go zone around airports is not as large as the FAA would have liked.
Airlines of the Commercial for the Americas group, representing American Airlines, FedEx and other carriers, have asked the Federal Communications Commission to halt deployment around many airports, warning thousands of flights could be disrupted each day.
