Verizon, AT&T agree delay of 5G roll-out, avert aviation stand-off

AT&T and Verizon Communications have agreed to a two-week delay in rolling out a new 5G service that airlines said might interfere with aircraft electronics and pose a safety hazard.

The companies issued separate statements on Monday night, two days before their planned January 5 launch, and one day after rebuffing a request for delay from US transportation officials. The action came after a flurry of calls directed at the industry and the White House from aviation groups seeking a delay, and as airlines were threatening legal action.

The US Federal Aviation Administration had been planning to issue hundreds of notices with specific restrictions for airport runways, heliports and other flight routes, which it said could cause significant disruptions to the aviation system.

The issue involves a new band of faster 5G wireless service that is located near frequencies used by aircraft equipment to compute altitude. Aviation groups and the FAA fear it could compromise safety, especially in low visibility conditions. The wireless companies and the Federal Communications Commission, which approved the service, have said there isn’t a risk.

“It’s clear that this irresponsible rollout of 5G wasn’t ready for takeoff,” Joe DePete, president of the Air Line Pilots Association. “Now the real work begins.”

The agreements lift the prospect of litigation that would seek to force the FCC to halt the wireless providers’ airwaves use, according to an airline official who asked not to be identified.

Litigation could still go forward if the two-week pause doesn’t result in agreements on methods to protect planes at airports, the official added.

The wireless providers committed to not deploy towers near certain airports for six months if the aviation industry agrees not to escalate its campaign against the new service. The offer is modelled after exclusion zones at airports in France, where 5G service is working on similar frequencies and US airliners have landed. Bloomberg