AT&T, Verizon to delay 5G on account of air security considerations: US regulators

Telecom giants AT&T and Verizon agreed to push again deployment of a brand new 5G frequency band to permit time to deal with air security considerations, US regulators stated Thursday.

The two firms will “voluntarily pause” the business rollout “to further assess any impact on aviation safety technologies,” the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission stated in a joint assertion.

The two firms had deliberate to start utilizing the 5G community on December 5, after spending tens of billions of {dollars} to buy licenses.

But aviation regulators have frightened concerning the attainable interference of the alerts with flight security gear.

The companies pledged “to coordinate closely to ensure that the United States keeps pace with the rest of the world in deploying next-generation communications technologies safely and without undue delay.”

The FAA on Tuesday issued a particular bulletin to aircraft manufacturers and radio altimeter producers recommending evaluation of potential interference on the 3.7 to three.8 Ghz ranges, in addition to at frequencies between 4.2 and 4.4 GHz.

Airlines ought to alert pilots to the “potential degradation” of safety systems “dependent upon radio altimeters,” the FAA stated.

“There have not yet been proven reports of harmful interference due to wireless broadband operations internationally, although this issue is continuing to be studied,” the FAA stated.

AT&T stated it will push again deployment to January 5.

“It is critical that these discussions be informed by the science and the data,” the corporate stated in assertion. “That is the only path to enabling experts and engineers to assess whether any legitimate co-existence issues exist.”

© 2021 AFP