The battle between the FAA, AT&T, Verizon, and airlines over 5G – The Verge

Airline fears around 5G may finally be over

2023-09-01T18:39:46-04:00

The concern that 5G signals could cause massive flight delays appears to finally be over now that Delta has upgraded its airplanes to avoid interference.

Reuters reported the airline has finished updating the radio altimeters in its currently in-service fleet. Other aircraft out for planned maintenance will also be outfitted with the new altimeters. Delta told the Associated Press the update "means no Delta aircraft will be subject to additional weather-driven constraints."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had said certain 5G signals could impact the altimeters pilots use to measure how far they are from the ground during low visi …

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An upcoming 5G deadline could cause airline delays starting July 1st

2023-06-25T14:47:57-04:00

With the 5G C-band rollout complete, there may be some flight delays. | Image: The Verge

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday there may be some airline delays or cancellations starting July 1st if the last remaining passenger jets haven't upgraded their altimeters to deal with 5G interference, per a report from The Wall Street Journal report. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains that 5G C-band signals could interfere with radio wave emitters passenger jets use to measure how far they are from the ground, which pilots rely on when landing with low visibility.

Though airlines aren't actually required to get the new equipment in place until February 2024, those passenger jets that haven't been cert …

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The FAA hopes airplanes and 5G can get along by early next year

2023-01-10T17:35:45-05:00

For over a year, the rollout of C-Band 5G around airports has been contentious. | Photo: Mitchell Clark / The Verge

The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a solution to the long-running dust-up between the airline and cellular industries over 5G rollouts: stricter requirements for radio altimeters in airplanes, which would potentially go into effect early next year (via Bloomberg).

The piece of safety equipment, which ties into several systems for most commercial jets, operates using radio frequencies that are similar to the 5G C-band radio waves that Verizon and AT&T have been rolling out after acquiring licenses to use the bands for billions of dollars. C-band is almost critical for 5G to live up to all the hype; it's what allows carriers to …

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FAA says Verizon and AT&T will soon be able to use the good 5G

2022-06-17T14:09:00-04:00

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, says it expects AT&T and Verizon to be able to more or less fully roll out their 5G C-band networks by July 2023, after multiple delays due to concerns about the radio waves affecting vital safety equipment on planes. The plan, which the FAA says is the result of collaboration between regulators, carriers, and the aviation industry, will allow carriers to turn on their equipment in "carefully considered phases" as airlines work to retrofit their planes with equipment that will mitigate any potential interference from cellular signals.

As AT&T and Verizon were turning on their next-gen networks in …

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The House hearing on 5G and planes shows the ride isn’t over yet

2022-02-04T14:51:32-05:00

On Thursday, after a month of confusion, delays, and canceled flights related to Verizon and AT&T's rollout of 5G C-Band networks, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing to "discuss the impact that deployment of 5G technologies has on the aviation industry."

Anyone tuning in hoping for bombshell revelations would've been disappointed. While some of the testimony was enlightening, giving insight into how certain segments of the industry viewed the events, the main takeaway was that we have a long way to go before C-Band and aviation will be able to co-exist happily.

"We recognize that the existing process for …

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The FAA, AT&T, and Verizon are getting closer to a solution for their 5G mess

2022-01-28T16:28:31-05:00

Communications weren’t always solid, but they’re picking back up. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Regulators, carriers, and the airline industry seem to be figuring out the details surrounding the rollout of C-band 5G and its potential effects on air travel. According to the Federal Aviation Administration's latest statement, "through continued technical collaboration, the FAA, Verizon, and AT&T have agreed on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service."

Carriers "have provided more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments," according to …

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Major airlines shrugged off 5G fiasco, but small regional carriers still face turbulence

2022-01-27T19:00:00-05:00

“About 53% of the regional fleet” is facing restrictions. | Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

In the lead-up to AT&T and Verizon's rollout of their upgraded 5G C-band equipment, it seemed like the sky was falling.

For years, the Federal Aviation Administration and airline organizations had voiced concerns that the upgraded cellular tech could interfere with vital safety equipment on planes, while the FCC and carriers insisted it was safe, pointing to similar rollouts in dozens of other countries. Even after several delays, there were still last-minute deals being made between carriers and regulators, with airlines banding together to warn that the activation could cause a "catastrophic disruption" to air travel and shipping. Several …

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FAA estimates 78 percent of US planes can now land at airports with 5G C-band

2022-01-20T15:31:49-05:00

There were concerns some altimeters might not properly filter 5G signals. | Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The FAA has announced that an "estimated 78 percent of the U.S. commercial fleet" have been cleared to land at airports with 5G C-band, even under low-visibility conditions. The agency's statement comes after a week of controversy surrounding the rollout of AT&T and Verizon's upgraded cellular tech, which saw US airlines warning of "catastrophic disruption" to travel and shipping and some international airlines announcing they'd halt flights to some US airports.

At issue are concerns that some radio altimeters won't properly ignore signals from the new 5G transmitters. While there are precautions that should keep this from happening, includ …

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The FAA says some 777s are cleared to fly to airports with 5G C-band

2022-01-19T15:08:21-05:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that more planes will be able to land in low-visibility conditions despite the rollout of 5G C-band, including some models of the Boeing 777 aircraft that's used by many international airlines. According to a statement from the regulatory agency, it's cleared three more models of radar altimeters as safe and reliable, even in areas where the upgraded cellular technology has been rolled out. This change comes after several international airlines announced on Tuesday that they were suspending flights to some US airports due to the 5G C-band rollout.

According to the FAA's statement, which you …

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Emirates, Air India, and others cancel flights due to AT&T and Verizon’s 5G rollout

2022-01-19T13:10:48-05:00

On Tuesday, Emirates, Air India, ANA, and Japan Airlines all announced that they were canceling some flights to the US due to this week's rollout of C-band 5G over concerns it could potentially interfere with some instruments, particularly on Boeing 777 aircraft. This comes as cell carriers, federal agencies, airlines, and airplane manufacturers struggle to reach an agreement on policies regarding how the rollout should be handled. The situation has continued to evolve as AT&T and Verizon switch on their c-band, but it's only gotten messier.

ANA cites specific guidance from Boeing, saying that "Boeing has announced flight restrictions on al …

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