AT&T, Verizon CEO Denies FAA Request to Delay 5G Expansion Starting Jan.

Putting the FAA and Airlines within the Ongoing Battle Against the FCC, Verizon, and AT&T on their deliberate launch of mid-band 5G service, cell carriers are denying a request by the FAA to delay them by two weeks.

Earlier this yr, an FCC public sale The two carriers sold the rights to use the so-called “C-band” frequencies at a cost of approximately $70 billion., Verizon and AT&T are wanting to roll it out in order that along with providing ultra-fast 5G connectivity in particular areas and really sluggish 5G at low-band frequencies utilizing high-band millimeter-wave know-how, the brand new spectrum shall be accessible in- Beach will present efficiency. over very vast areas. T Mobile Currently uses mid-band spectrum that is not in C-band,

On Friday, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dixon despatched a letter to AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg on Friday, Asking them to push back plans to start commercial deployment on January 5, Air journey regulators stated they might use that point to establish precedence airports, inform flights and devise other ways of compliance.

bloomberg And Reuters report that in a response letter at this time from the 2 CEOs, firms that Already submitted 30-day delay request And agreed to cut back the ability of his indicators, saying no. They suggest to begin utilizing C-band spectrum to increase their 5G providers, however an identical system already exists in France, with a dedication to keep away from deployment round some airports for six months. . However, this dedication “subjects to the condition that the FAA and the aviation industry commit to do so without escalating their complaints, as they have elsewhere.”

In the letter (included under), he says:

“Now, on New Year’s Eve, simply 5 days earlier than the deployment of C-band spectrum, we acquired your letter asking us to take extra voluntary steps – to the detriment of tens of millions of our shoppers, enterprise and authorities prospects. . – To as soon as once more help the aviation business and the FAA after failing to resolve points in that expensive delay interval of 30 days that we by no means thought of early.

“At its core, your proposed framework asks that we agree to move our companies’ multi-billion dollar investments to 50 undisclosed metropolitan areas, which represent the lion’s share of the U.S. population, to the FAA for an indefinite period of months or years.” Worse, the provide is directed to solely two firms, no matter license auctions and phrases granted, and to the exception of each different firm and business throughout the FCC’s purview.

“…we’ll once more volunteer, in a spirit of cooperation and goodwill, to alter our use of C-band spectrum throughout the identical six-month interval (until we and the FAA decide that these voluntary limits must be relaxed quickly) ) Specifically, for six months, till July 5, 2022, we’ll undertake the identical C-band radio exclusion zones which might be already in use in France, reflecting minor technical variations To replicate slight technical variations in how the C-band is being deployed within the two nations. That strategy – which is essentially the most conservative on this planet – would contain wider exclusion zones round runways at some airports. The C-band sign stage on the impression runway or over the last mile of ultimate strategy and the primary mile after takeoff should be diminished by no less than 10 occasions.

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Reilly tweeted About the letter, saying, “May we have secure wireless and secure flights. Wise people must acknowledge that the US wireless industry does not have more C-band limits than France does.”

to the purpose the idea is According to the FAA, guided touchdown programs for plane “may be limited due to concerns that the 5G signal may interfere with the accuracy of an airplane’s radio altimeter, without other mitigations.” C-band 5G and these radio altimeters do not really function in the identical band, however the bands are so shut that concern exists.

Reuters present that the commerce group Airlines to America American Airlines, which represents JetBlue, Delta, FedEx and UPS, has threatened to go to court docket on Monday if the FCC doesn’t act on the 5G rollout.

So far, the FAA’s response to the letter is that “We are reviewing the latest letter from wireless companies on how to reduce interference from 5G C-band transmissions. US aviation safety standards will guide our next steps.”

Update Jan 2, 6:07PM ET: Added letter from the CEOs of Verizon and AT&T.