At&T & Verizon Delay Their 5G Expansion For FAA

On June 17, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a statement explaining that the US, At&T, and Verizon mobile carriers have autonomously agreed to delay the expansion of their C-band 5G spectrum until the middle of 2023 next year.

Some airports in the USA have faced issues related to the disruption of the altimeter because of the 5G spectrum expansion by carrier networks. Radio waves can be disrupted by the C-band 5G frequency and can lead to malfunctions in the Altimeter (An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level which informs about the altitude at which the plane is flying).

This voluntary action was taken so that the air carriers can Retrofit(Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems)some airplanes so that they can traverse without any problems caused by the use of the 5G band spectrum.

This agreement was made in January to buy some time for air carriers with FAA to delay the amplification of Verizon & At&T C-band 5G spectrum.

C band spectrum is an identity for a portion of frequency from 4.0 to 8.0 gigahertz (GHz). The U.S. Federal Communications Commission identifies the C band proceeding from 3.7 to-4.2 GHz and designated it as the C band. The C band is used for many satellite communications transmissions, some Wi-Fi devices, some cordless telephones, and some surveillance and weather radar systems.

FAA acting president Billy Nolen requested and advised primary airlines in the USA to speed up the retrofitting filters to the airplanes’ altimeters from next month, as the respected telecom carriers are already delaying their expansion of the 5G spectrum.

A group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others stated that most of the 4,800 total aircraft need to be retrofitted by July 2023, and it’s probably not feasible at an FAA meeting.

“Given that the FAA has not even approved solutions nor have manufacturers manufactured these products for most of this fleet, it is not at all clear that carriers can meet what appears to be an arbitrary deadline.”

-Airlines for America & other group members at the Wednesday FAA meeting.

“filters and replacement units for the mainline commercial fleet should be available on a schedule that would permit the work to be largely completed by July 2023. After that time, the wireless companies expect to operate their networks in urban areas with minimal restrictions.”

The FAA, this Friday.

Jan. 17 Airlines CEOs already warned of a possible “catastrophic” aviation crisis that could cause the grounding of nearly all traffic because of the 5G extension & implementation.

The telecom carriers At&T and Verizon already have licenses and authority to use and expand their 5G network, but in good faith, they are delaying this for the safety of the people.

“lift the voluntary limitations on our 5G network deployment around airports in a staged approach over the coming months meaning even more consumers and businesses will benefit from the tremendous capabilities of 5G technology.”

-Verizon said Friday

At&T added that they have,

“developed a more tailored approach to controlling signal strength around runways that allows us to activate more towers and increase signal strength.”

“chosen in good faith to implement these more tailored precautionary measures so that airlines have additional time to retrofit equipment.”

While the whole world and network carriers are joining the 5G race, this is an issue that, while limited to the USA for now, will surely impact the different regions of the world, and we will have to see how they deal with it.

Sources & References :

Verizon, AT&T agree to delay some 5G deployment until mid-2023