WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
voluntarily agreed to temporarily
defer turning on a limited num-
ber of towers around certain
airport runways as we continue
to work with the aviation indus-
try and the FAA to provide fur-
ther information about our 5G
deployment, since they have not
utilized the two years they’ve had
to responsibly plan for this de-
ployment,” AT&T said.
Other nations have activated
5G networks and have not seen
elevated risks to aviation safety,
prompting supporters of the
technology to say the airlines’
concerns are overblown. But the
FAA, drawing comparisons with
France, says there have been safe-
guards overseas that are not in
place in the United States, such as
wider buffer areas around air-
ports, lower power transmissions
and antennas tilted toward the
ground.
On Monday, Calio and 10 air-
line executives wrote to the
White House and aviation and
spectrum regulators warning instark terms about looming dis-
ruptions.
“A irplane manufacturers have
informed us that there are huge
swaths of the operating fleet that
may need to be indefinitely
grounded,” they wrote, adding,
“To be blunt, the nation’s com-
merce will grind to a halt.”
The airlines, trying to recover
from the pandemic downturn
and thousands of canceled flights
around the Christmas and New
Year’s holidays, asked that the 5G
rollout not be allowed within two
miles of airport runways. AT&T
said its changes were in line with
that request. Verizon did not
share details about how it would
limit its service.
Joe DePete, president of the Air
Line Pilots Association, a labor
union, said he supported limita-
tions to the 5G rollout but added
that the aviation industry needs
long-term guarantees to ensure
the safety of flight.
“The United States has the
safest air transportation systemin the world, and our trained-for-
life pilots plan to keep it that
way,” DePete said in a statement.
“But this is no way to protect that
safety record and America’s vital
aviation industry, which is so
critical to our nation’s economy
and the global supply chain.”
The wireless companies earlier
this month agreed to delay acti-
vating their networks for two
weeks, giving the FAA more time
to study the issue. The agency’s
findings suggest any effects
would be felt unevenly, with some
kinds of planes and some airports
affected more than others.
The FAA has evaluated some
altimeter systems in recent weeks
and said before Tuesday’s deal
that those on many Boeing and
Airbus jets — which account for
45 percent of the nation’s com-
mercial fleet — remained safe to
use at some airports. In other
instances, the FAA said interfer-
ence would remain an issue. The
agency expects to issue more
approvals for other altimeters inthe coming days.
At some major airports, in-
cluding Hartsfield-Jackson At-
lanta International Airport — the
nation’s busiest — and Reagan
National Airport outside Wash-
ington, the FAA has said it sees no
potential for interference from
5G networks, because of where
the system is being rolled out or
because towers are farther from
runways.
Amid discussions involving
the wireless companies and the
Biden administration in recent
weeks, airlines began preparing
workers for disruptions.
United Airlines said in a state-
ment before the agreement was
announced that the 5G rollout
would have a “devastating im-
pact” on aviation. The carrier
estimated that more than 1,
flights a month could be affected
— creating potential inconve-
niences for more than 1 million
passengers annually. In addition,
cargo carried in the belly of those
planes could be affected, the car-BY IAN DUNCAN
AND LORI ARATANIWireless companies AT&T and
Verizon said Tuesday they would
limit the rollout of new high-
speed 5G networks near airports,
a step the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration said should avert
possible flight disruptions and
much of the potential for inter-
ference with airplane safety tech-
nology.
Airlines had begun preparing
employees for a wave of disrup-
tions tied to the rollout, while
some international operators
canceled flights to the United
States. Tuesday’s deal marked an-
other temporary fix in a dispute
that has put different parts of the
federal government at logger-
heads, while leaving two of the
nation’s major industries at odds.
The White House helped bro-
ker the deal, which President
Biden said would still enable
90 percent of new wireless towers
to launch as planned.
“This agreement protects
flight safety and allows aviation
operations to continue without
significant disruption and will
bring more high-speed internet
options to millions of Ameri-
cans,” Biden said in a statement.
The telecommunications com-
panies had twice delayed activat-
ing the towers in recent months
to give aviation safety regulators
more time to analyze potential
interference with devices on
planes known as radio altimeters.
The devices measure how high
planes are flying and are critical
for landing in poor visibility.
The new 5G systems use a
wireless spectrum known as the
C-band, which is close to the
airwaves altimeters rely on, cre-
ating the potential for interfer-
ence.
Nicholas Calio, chief executive
of trade group Airlines for Ameri-
ca, said Tuesday he welcomed the
deal, but he said the industry was
still awaiting details.
“This pause provides the op-
portunity to ensure all stakehold-
ers, consumers and the U.S. econ-
omy are served in the long run,”
he said.
Despite agreeing to change
their rollout plans, the two wire-
less carriers issued statements
expressing disappointment that
the FAA had not been able to
resolve lingering safety issues.
“A t our sole discretion we have
rier said.
American Airlines Chief Oper-
ating Officer David Seymour had
said in a memo that the carrier’s
management anticipated “delays,
diversions and cancellations that
are well beyond our control.” He
continued, “We’re incredibly dis-
appointed that we are at this
point, that the entire U.S. airline
industry is facing major disrup-
tion as new wireless technology is
activated.”
In an internal memo, JetBlue
chief executive Robin Hayes said
despite the two-week delay, “too
many concerns remain unre-
solved.”
Among the airports that could
be affected, Hayes said, were
John F. Kennedy International in
New York, Boston’s Logan Inter-
national, Los Angeles Interna-
tional and Orlando International.
Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of
the Federal Communications
Commission, which regulates the
airwaves, said despite the limita-
tions announced Tuesday, the
deal paved the way for economi-
cally vital 5G to reach millions
more households and businesses.
“This is welcome news because
we know that deployment can
safely co-exist with aviation tech-
nologies in the United States, just
as it does in other countries
around the world,” she said in a
statement after the deal was an-
nounced.
5G networks are the next stage
in evolution for wireless Internet
and are expected to foster a wave
of innovation. Verizon says the
C-band will bring the faster serv-
ice to a wider swath of the coun-
try and allow the company to
offer high-speed home Internet
over the air.
Aija Leiponen, a professor at
Cornell University’s SC Johnson
College of Business, said the gov-
ernment faces pressure to help
get the 5G networks off the
ground but also cannot tolerate
risks to aviation safety. She said
the underlying questions have
been long understood and re-
solved in other countries, so there
is no reason the U.S. government
should have allowed a crisis to
brew.
“It’s baffling to me that we’re in
this situation on January 18 when
on January 19 these things are
supposed to be turned on,” Lei-
ponen said.
[email protected]
[email protected]AT&T, Verizon to limit 5G near airports after airlines had braced for disruptions
JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
A Verizon store in Corte Madera, C alif., touts the company’s 5G coverage i n July. 5G networks are expected to foster a wave of innovation,
but they use a spectrum known as the C-band, which is close to the airwaves altimeters rely on, creating the potential for interference.DISCOVER. PLAN. DO.JAN. 21–DULLES EXPOCENTERHomeandRemodelingShow.combuy online & SAV E$3VALID ON REGULAR ADULT ADMISSION ONLY.3 DAYS ONLY!Get yacht worthy tablescape trendsfrom Bugsy Drake, of Bravo’s hit showBelow Deck Mediterranean.