US Airlines Warn of Flight Delays Due to 5G Signals; ask AT&T and Verizon to delay new service

Airlines warned of the possibility of further flight delays after AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. dismissed a request from the United States government to postpone the new 5G service that, according to the airline industry, puts security at risk because it can interfere. with aircraft electronic devices.

The two telecommunications companies said Sunday that the Secretary of Transportation’s request, Pete Buttigieg, Y Steve Dickson, manager of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), would be “detriment”From millions of mobile phone users. The companies said they could offer a six-month hiatus near some airports.

The FEW and the Department of Transportation They were considering the response on Sunday, but airlines and regulators projected substantial impacts to flight schedules if there are not some adjustments to the 5G service, which is scheduled to launch on January 5.

According to the worst case scenario of the association Airlines for America, up to 350,000 commercial flights could be impacted per year at a cost of US $ 2.1 billion.

“Without proper mitigations, the deployment of 5G around airports could disrupt up to 345,000 passenger flights – affecting 32 million travelers – in addition to 5,400 cargo flights each year in the form of delays, diversions or cancellations.“, He said Airlines for America in a statement Sunday.

The new signs 5G they would use a set of radio waves newly available to mobile communications providers. The frequencies are close to those used by altitude sensing radar altimeters. Airlines and aircraft manufacturers said that creates a possibility of interference that could jeopardize the safety of some landings.

The telecommunications industry said that the power levels are low enough to avoid interference and that the gap between the frequencies is large enough to ensure safety. On Sunday, operators made the launch of 5G a priority, citing a race with China to offer broad high-speed mobile broadband and a growing demand for mobile services amid the covid pandemic.

The stakes are high for both industries. The telecommunications industry paid more than $ 80 billion in an auction for access to the frequencies in question, and AT&T and Verizon will depend on them to compete with T-Mobile US Inc. and upgrade their networks with next-generation technology.

‘Irresponsible abdication’

In a letter Friday, Buttigieg and Dickson asked mobile service providers for a delay of up to two weeks. Officials predict a possible “widespread and unacceptable disruption”From air traffic as planes avoid airports flooded with 5G signals that could affect electronic devices used during landings.

The operators responded Sunday with a letter signed by the CEOs of each company, Hans Vestberg from Verizon Y John Stankey from AT&T.

“Your proposal requests that we agree to transfer oversight of our companies’ multi-million dollar investment in 50 unidentified metropolitan areas that represent the majority of the U.S. population to the FAA for an indeterminate number of months or years.”, They wrote Vestberg y Stankey. “Worse still, the proposal is aimed at just two companies”.

The executives said that accepting the proposal would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operational control required to deploy world-class and competitive communications networks globally”.

Previously, AT&T Y Verizon They agreed to reduce the strength of their 5G signals with a 30-day delay, since the service was scheduled to launch in December.