Telecommunication majors AT&T Inc. and Verizon have reportedly decided to temporarily limit their 5G capabilities to address safety concerns of the aviation industry.

This comes after the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) assessment regarding the potential risk of mid-bank 5G spectrum on aircraft safety systems. The organization has warned pilots that 5G transmitters may cause certain equipment to malfunction, further hampering flight operations.

Both AT&T and Verizon are preparing to introduce important upgrades to their individual 5G networks by using the spectrum obtained through a C-band auction.  This is likely to help users receive a faster 5G connectivity speed.

Through a letter addressed to Chairwoman of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Jessica Rosenworcel, AT&T and Verizon stated that the new spectrum is likely to be the backbone for 5G networks.

The two companies have also claimed that the mid-band 5G spectrum has so far never disrupted any flight operations or posed any other aviation security threats in countries. However, the duo has agreed to push out the launch date to January 2022 to support to Federal Aviation Administration’s request for additional evaluation of the issues.

Sources claimed that Verizon and AT&T are hoping to take extra precautions through July 2022 to reduce energy emission from 5G base stations, especially in public heliports and airports across the nation.

The telecommunication giants believe that this step would be enough to minimize concerns regarding radio altimeter performance. For those unaware, altimeters significantly assist aircraft operators during landings especially at times of poor visibility conditions.

As of now, FAA has not yet commented on the plans proposed by both firms. But both the carriers are determined to set operations back to normal after July 6th next year unless the regulatory body provides them with credible evidence on the potential risk of 5G transmitters.

Source Credits-

https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/24/22801008/verizon-att-midband-5g-c-band-lower-power-six-months