The decision from the telecommunication companies arrived Tuesday as the Biden administration tried to broker a settlement between the telecom companies and the airlines over a rollout of new 5G service, scheduled for Wednesday.
Airlines want the new service to be banned within two miles of airport runways.
A short time later, Verizon said it will launch its 5G network but added, “we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports." It blamed airlines and the
The announcements came after the airline industry issued a dire warning about the impact a new type of 5G service would have on flights. CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines said interference with aircraft systems would be worse than they originally thought, making many flights impossible.
“To be blunt, the nation’s commerce will grind to a halt” unless the service is blocked near major airports, the CEOs said in a letter Monday to federal officials including Transportation Secretary
Psaki said among those taking part in ongoing negotiations with airlines and telecoms were Buttigieg, members of President
The new high-speed wireless service uses a segment of the radio spectrum, C-Band, that is close to that used by altimeters, which are devices that measure the height of aircraft above the ground. Altimeters are used to help pilots land when visibility is poor, and they link to other systems on planes.
However, the CEOs of 10 passenger and cargo airlines including American,
“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,” the CEOs said.
The showdown between two industries and their rival regulators — the
This was a crisis that was years in the making.
The airline industry and the
The telecoms, the
After rival T-Mobile got what is called mid-band spectrum from its acquisition of Sprint,
In response to concern by the airlines, however, they agreed to delay the service until early January.
Late on New Year’s Eve, Buttigieg and
That was followed by a deal in which the telecoms agreed to reduce the power of their networks near 50 airports for six months, similar to wireless restrictions in
Biden praised the deal, but the airlines weren’t satisfied with the agreement, regarding it as a victory for the telecoms that didn’t adequately address their concerns about trying to land planes at airports where the new service would be active.
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