The airline industry claims that a catastrophic event could happen on Wednesday when AT&T and Verizon start their 5G networks. The CEOs of several airlines, including Delta, United and Southwest, sent a letter to the FCC warning that interference from 5G cell towers could affect safety equipment on their planes.
The letter was sent to the heads of the White House Economic Council, Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission, as well as the Transportation Secretary Pete Butt. Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies.
The airlines want AT&T and Verizon to not offer 5G service within 2 miles of some of the country's busiest and most vital airports. They want the federal government to make sure 5G is deployed only when towers are too close to airport runways until the FAA can determine how that can be safely accomplished without catastrophic disruption. On January 7th, the agency established 5G buffer zones at 50 airports.
The letter is the latest development in the ongoing back and forth between the airline and wireless industries. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon spent over 80 billion dollars to secure the C-Band spectrum the FCC put up for auction. AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay their C- Band launches to January 5th to help the FAA address any interference concerns. They agreed to a further delay of two weeks on January 4th after they proposed limiting the power output of cell towers close to airports.
This article was originally published on Engadget.
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