Verizon and AT&T have decided to postpone the activation of 5G networks near several American airports, after many of the major airlines operating in the United States had written to the US authorities warning about possible dangerous consequences on flights. In fact, there would be a danger of interference between some frequencies used by 5G and those of the radio altimeters of many aircraft. The start was scheduled for January 19th.
Both the transport minister Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), had asked repeated postponements, after the concerns also expressed by aeronautical companies such as Boeing and Airbus for possible interference with the on-board instruments necessary for landing under certain conditions.
In the meantime, the FAA has authorized the use of certain radio altimetric models and has given a green light to 48 of the 88 American airports most directly exposed to this risk, imposing restrictions in other cases instead. The latest alert dates back to Monday 17, when the executives of 10 American airlines had called for “immediate intervention” by the US authorities to avoid the potential chaos resulting from the entry into operation of 5G near airports.
The intervention of the top managers of the airlines
Top managers in the sector have asked to “prevent a major operational disruption for passengers, transporters, the supply chain and the supply of essential drugs.” The proposal was not to activate 5G when the relay towers are too close to the airports.
In this context, AT&T has “voluntarily agreed to temporarily postpone the activation of a limited number of relay towers around certain airport runways”. A decision, the company explained, “to continue working with the aviation industry and the FAA” and “provide the most extensive information” on this new technology.