AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. have agreed to temporarily delay switching on hundreds of 5G cell towers near U.S. airports in last-minute talks with government officials designed to limit flight disruptions that could have started Wednesday.
President Joe Biden issued a statement Tuesday praising the move. “This agreement will avoid potentially devastating disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery, while allowing more than 90% of wireless tower deployment to occur as scheduled,” Biden said.
The companies will expand the zones around dozens of airports where 5G signals won’t be allowed, said a person familiar with the talks who wasn’t authorized to speak about them publicly. Both companies issued statements Tuesday saying they were voluntarily limiting service around airports.
AT&T blasted the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline industry for what it called their lack of preparation for Wednesday’s inauguration of the company’s service.
The company said in a statement that it has “voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment.”
Verizon, in its statement, said “we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports.”
The faster 5G technology operates on frequencies that are adjacent to airline equipment, prompting the FAA to order a series of flight restrictions on some aircraft operating near the cell towers, particularly during landings.
“This agreement protects flight safety and allows aviation operations to continue without significant disruption and will bring more high-speed internet options to millions of Americans,” Biden said.
The latest measures should allow the aviation system to function in coming weeks, but isn’t a permanent solution, Representative Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in an emailed statement.
“The FAA needs to definitively determine what long-term changes are needed at these affected airports so that we can move toward a positive solution,” DaFazio said. “Without mitigation, we’re looking at disastrous disruptions to our national airspace system.”
Verizon and AT&T agreed on Jan. 3, to a six-month delay of the new 5G service near 50 airports. After concerns were raised by the airline industry and aviation groups, Verizon agreed to add at least 24 more airports to the list of areas where no new 5G service would be deployed while potential interference issues are being reviewed, Rich Young, a company spokesman said.
New 5G service at the 50 airports is scheduled to start July 5, while the duration of the delays for the additional airports is still in discussion, he said.
“We recognize the economic importance of expanding 5G, and we appreciate the wireless companies working with us to protect the flying public and the country’s supply chain,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an emailed statement.
The agreement by the companies came after airline executives warned of “catastrophic disruptions” to flights. Impacts should be reduced significantly with the latest development, but won’t be eliminated entirely, said the person familiar with the talks.
While there were almost certain to be some limitations on flights that could lead to delays or cancellations without the latest agreement, the extent of the impacts wasn’t clear.
The main limitation on airline flights imposed by the FAA would restrict certain high-risk, low-visibility landings in the presence of 5G signals. The FAA on Sunday announced that about 45% of the U.S. airline fleet was at least partially shielded from the 5G airwaves and wouldn’t face full restrictions.
But the FAA on Friday issued a separate order restricting how Boeing Co. 787s may land if 5G signals are nearby and the agency has said it expects to issue other such advisories.
