C-Band 5G is set to go online on Wednesday, and airlines have warned of possible interruption
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and some US airline executives are concerned about interference if 5G is installed too close to airport runways on Wednesday, when AT&T and Verizon will begin deploying new C-Band 5G. As a result of the C-Band spectrum potentially interfering with low-visibility operation aircraft instrumentation, this has occurred.
According to a letter acquired by Reuters, the Wednesday launch of C-Band 5G might result in “chaos” for domestic flights and leave Americans stranded abroad, according to multiple US airline executives. Airlines for America spearheaded the initiative to get signatures on the letter.
Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded […] This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subjected to cancellations, diversions, or delays […] Multiple modern safety systems on aircraft will be deemed unusable causing a much larger problem than what we knew… Airplane manufacturers have informed us that there are huge swaths of the operating fleet that may need to be indefinitely grounded.” – Letter from Airline executives
Among the signatories to the letter were officials from American Airlines, Delta Airlines United Airlines Southwest Airlines UPS Alaska Air Atlas Airjetblue Airways Jetblue Airways and FedEx.
- White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
- FAA Administration Steve Dickson
- FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel
With the proposed restrictions at selected airports, the transportation industry is preparing for some service disruption. We are optimistic that we can work across industries and with government to finalize solutions that safely mitigate as many schedule impacts as possible.
“5G be implemented everywhere in the country except inside around 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of airport runways,” particularly at high-traffic hub airports, airlines have requested. According to Reuters, airline executives are concerned about the new 5G service’s ability to land Boeing 777s (as well as some Boeing cargo jets) at important US airports.
“Buffer zones” were put in place around 50 airports after Verizon and AT&T obtained the majority of the C-Band spectrum in January. After a 30-day delay, 5G service will be available on the C-band starting on Wednesday, possibly to prevent dangers during high holiday travel activities..
