After cancelling nearly 1000+ flights over the deployment of Verizon and AT&T’s C-Band 5Gservice, the FAA has come to an agreement with the two mobile carriers to allow more aircraft to land in key airports in the USA and also deploy more towers around these airports.
Earlier this month, the USA’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), threatened to cancel flights in multiple airports across the country, in response to Verizon’s and AT&T’s rollout of 5G Band-C. They claimed that this new 5G band would interfere with sensitive equipment onboard many widebody aircraft, rendering them inoperable.
Verizon and AT&T agreed to halt the rollout while they worked with the FAA on improving the safety of the rollout itself. After nearly two weeks, the FAA has now announced that it has received more data about rollout of the network coverage of these 5G Band-C services, and has agreed to allow more aircraft to land in these airports. This will also allow more towers to be turned on around these airports, providing 5G connectivity to more people.
In its statement, the FAA has said:
Through continued technical collaboration, the FAA, Verizon, and AT&T have agreed on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service. The FAA appreciates the strong communication and collaborative approach with wireless companies, which have provided more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments. The FAA used this data to determine that it is possible to safely and more precisely map the size and shape of the areas around airports where 5G signals are mitigated, shrinking the areas where wireless operators are deferring their antenna activations. This will enable the wireless providers to safely turn on more towers as they deploy new 5G service in major markets across the United States. The FAA continues to work with helicopter operators and others in the aviation community to ensure they can safely operate in areas of current and planned 5G deployment.