US officials request for delay in 5G rollout

Telecom providers AT&T and Verizon have been asked for a delay in the 5G rollout due to aviation industry problems.

Earlier on 31 December, in a letter, head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Steve Dickson and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg raised concern for the rollout of 5G Technology over Aviation Industry concerns. In the letter, they asked the telecom companies AT&T and Verizon to hold on to the introduction of 5G wireless service for two weeks over aviation safety concerns.

Earlier, the companies were asked to delay the rollout of 5G in the month of December last year and were scheduled to 5 January 2022 to which the companies agreed. However, the authorities have again asked to delay for the second time.

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According to Reuters, in the letter, Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asked AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey and Verizon Chief Executive Hans Vestberg for a delay of no more than two weeks as part of a “proposal as a near-term solution for advancing the co-existence of 5G deployment in the C-Band and safe flight operations.”

As per the aviation industry and FAA 5G wireless services could disrupt flights and can interfere with sensitive aircraft electronics like radio altimeters. “We ask that your companies continue to pause introducing commercial C-Band service for an additional short period of no more than two weeks beyond the currently scheduled deployment date of January 5,” the letter read.

Earlier on Thursday, trade association Airlines for America asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hold on the launch of 5G technology around airports “The potential damage to the airline industry alone is staggering.”

House Transportation Committee chair Peter DeFazio Friday backed the airline group petition warning “we can’t afford to experiment with aviation safety.” On the other hand, the delay in 5G services would lead to a big loss for telecom companies.