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FILE PHOTO: A contract crew from Verizon installs 5G telecommunications equipment on a tower in Orem, Utah, U.S. December 3, 2019. December 3, 2019. \u00a9 REUTERS\/George Frey<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
RT.com<\/p>\n
Cellular providers Verizon and AT&T have been forced to delay their full 5G rollout as the Federal Aviation Administration warns that expanding into a certain bandwidth will seriously interfere with bands used for aircraft safety.<\/p>\n
The planned December 5 rollout across C-band frequencies, which offer\u00a0\u201cgood-to-great speed\u201d<\/em>\u00a0across the mid-range of the radio frequency spectrum, will be delayed until at least January 5, AT&T and Verizon announced on Thursday. The companies are hoping to work with the FAA to address its concerns regarding potential interference with cockpit safety equipment that also uses the C band, people familiar with the matter and one of the companies told the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n While the corporations doled out a combined $70 billion to gain access to the C-band in an auction earlier this year, the aviation industry has protested its use, arguing that \u201cmajor disruptions to use of the National Airspace System can be expected\u201d should the providers get dibs on that bandwidth for their 5G.<\/p>\n The companies already have high-speed 5G connectivity in higher bands, where they use millimeter-wave technology, and low-band frequencies, which are noticeably slower. While they aren\u2019t the only two companies rolling out 5G, their competitor T-Mobile has already snapped up a sizable chunk of mid-band spectrum that does not (yet) operate on C-band.<\/p>\n ALSO ON RT.COM<\/span>US aviation regulator mulls warnings to pilots over \u2018deep concerns\u2019 5G towers could interfere with cockpit systems \u2013 reports<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>The aircraft industry has apparently been trying to get phone companies\u2019 attention for some time now, having held a meeting in August with the Federal Communications Commission to warn of the coming clash between the two areas. Unless something is done, they warned,\u00a0\u201cmajor disruptions\u201d<\/em>\u00a0could be expected, forcing the FAA to\u00a0\u201cdrastically reduce aviation operational capacity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Having failed to convince others on the urgency of the matter, the FAA released a \u201cspecial information bulletin\u201d earlier this week outlining 5G\u2019s potential interference with airplane safety hardware that depends on access to radio altimeters. Until this week, the agency had planned to issue official mandates limiting the use of automated systems, including one that helps pilots fly and land in bad weather. The bans were designed to prevent any interference from 5G signals encroaching on their bandwidth, as 5G operators are expected to unleash their technology on December 5 across 46 markets.<\/p>\n While acknowledging there had not been any issues of\u00a0\u201charmful interference\u201d<\/em>\u00a0with 5G in other countries, pilots were warned they must be\u00a0\u201cprepared for the possibility that interference from 5G transmitters and other technology could cause certain safety equipment to malfunction,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0suggesting that being forced to fix the issues\u00a0\u201ccould affect flight operations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Wireless trade group CTIA has insisted 5G networks could safely use the spectrum, pointing to 40 countries in which they were simultaneously operational with airline safety computers.<\/p>\n