Verizon and AT&T to delay 5G C-Band for all airports

AT&T and Verizon have announced that they will push back plans to activate some 5G towers around airports after airline operators warned that the deployment could cause catastrophic disruption to travel and shipping. Japan's ANA and Japan Airlines were among the major airlines to announce flight cancellations on concerns over the 5G rollout.

The Telecom giants have spent tens of billions of dollars to obtain 5G licenses last year but aviation industry groups have raised concerns about possible interference with airplanes' radio altimeters -- which can operate at the same frequencies -- particularly in bad weather.

A joint letter sent to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and other government officials from the air transit companies, claimed disastrous consequences could result from deployments being allowed adjacent to any US airports at all.

AT&T only needed to delay a total of 10 tower activations, while Verizon was required to delay several hundred. Both the carriers have clashed with airline operators, who claim that their new C-Band 5G towers could disrupt sensitive equipment, making it difficult to land in low-visibility conditions.

AT&T described its latest delay as voluntary and temporary saying it was working with the airline industry and the FAA “to provide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years they've had to responsibly plan for this deployment.”

Verizon and AT&T have already delayed the launch of their new C-Band 5G service twice due to warnings from airlines and aircraft manufacturers concerned that it might interfere with instruments used to measure altitude.