ATT Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. rejected a U.S. request to delay this week’s launch of a new variation of 5G mobile service that airlines said might interfere with aircraft electronics, posing a safety hazard.
But the CEOs of the two telecommunications giants also said in a joint letter Sunday that they would be willing to commit to a six-month pause in deployment near certain airports that will be selected in negotiations with U.S. officials and the aviation industry.
The U.S. request seeks steps that would be “to the detriment of our millions of consumer, business and government customers,” Verizon Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg and ATT’s John Stankey wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
In a letter Friday, the U.S. officials asked the wireless providers to delay the planned Jan. 5 start of the new service. The officials forecast possible “widespread and unacceptable disruption” to air traffic as planes avoid airports bathed in 5G signals that could affect electronics used during landings.
The carriers cast the 5G rollout as a priority, citing a race with China to offer extensive high-speed mobile broadband, and escalating demand for wireless service amid the Covid pandemic.
“Your proposed framework asks that we agree to transfer oversight of our companies’ multi-billion dollar investment in 50 unnamed metropolitan areas representing the lion’s share of the U.S. population to the FAA for an undetermined number of months or years,” Vestberg and Stankey wrote. “Even worse, the proposal is directed to only two companies.”
The wireless executives said agreeing to the proposal would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks.”
The new 5G signals would use a set of airwaves made freshly available to mobile communications providers. The frequencies are near those used by altitude-sensing radar altimeters. Aviation interests have said that creates a chance of interference that could leave some landings unsafe.
The wireless industry said power levels are low enough to preclude interference, and the gap between frequencies is sufficiently large to ensure safety.
Earlier ATT and Verizon agreed to reduce power of their 5G signals and to put in place a 30-day delay, moving the service’s start from December to Jan. 5.
FAA and DOT officials are reviewing the response from the companies and “U.S. aviation safety standards will guide our next actions,” the FAA said in an emailed statement.
The FAA, an arm of the United Nations and industry groups have been raising concerns about use of the radio waves since 2015, the U.S. aviation regulator said.
The ATT and Verizon executives in Sunday’s letter said that if aviation interests don’t escalate their campaign against the new signals, they would commit to not deploying towers near certain airports for six months. The offer is modeled after exclusion zones at airports in France, where 5G service is working on similar frequencies and U.S. airliners have landed.
The wireless executives said they are “committed to continue” cooperation with transportation interests “on the condition that the FAA and the aviation industry are committed to doing the same without escalating their grievances, unfounded as they are, in other venues.”
While it’s unclear how aviation groups will respond to the wireless companies’ counteroffer, some type of restriction on 5G service near runways could limit impacts and give industry groups and regulators more time to study the potential for interference.
Aviation groups have argued that power levels and frequencies approved in other nations, including France, aren’t comparable to those in the U.S.
The Airlines for America trade group in an emergency petition last week asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay the planned 5G deployment. The CTIA trade group that represents wireless interests told the FCC to reject the request.
“We are optimistic that by working together we can both advance the wireless economy and ensure aviation safety,” an FCC spokesperson said in an email Sunday.
The U.S. transportation officials in their Friday letter requested a delay of “no more than two weeks.” During that time, the FAA and the aviation industry will identify airports where a buffer zone would permit flights to continue safely.
In addition to the two-week delay, the transportation officials asked the companies to hold off on the new service near “priority airports.” The service could be activated near those airports on a rolling basis through March, they proposed.
In this way, most 5G customers could use the new service, but critical runways would be protected, they said. The FAA said it is attempting to identify the airports it views as priorities and will seek to identify mitigations that will let most large commercial aircraft operate safely.
Stakes are high for both industries. The wireless industry paid $81 billion in an auction for access to the frequencies in question, and ATT and Verizon will rely on them for network upgrades to compete with T-Mobile US Inc. in providing the next generation of fast mobile broadband.
Airlines in a Dec. 30, 2021, petition seeking a delay said they could lose more than $1 billion if they can’t properly operate their aircraft due to interference concerns, while disrupting plans for millions of passengers.
