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The 5G-airline snafu: Everything we know

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The attempt to roll out amped up mobile service across the United States has been a bit of a mess. The aviation industry and transportation regulators are worried about new 5G antennas interfering with a key type of aircraft altimeter that’s essential for landing planes in bad weather. But wireless carriers and telecom regulators have said there’s nothing to fear.
The authorities have been in a weeks-long stalemate. And the whole thing culminated this week with some major international airlines canceling some US flights, as regulators, telecom giants, and airlines blew past a deadline to come to an agreement. AT&T and Verizon are now, yet again, delaying their plans to switch on their new 5G antennas near certain airports. Regulators are still hashing out solutions. And a lot remains unclear. The President of Emirates, Sir Tim Clark, told CNN on Wednesday that the airline was not aware of some of the potential 5G rollout issues until yesterday morning, calling the situation “one of the most delinquent, utterly irresponsible” he has seen in his aviation career. Here’s everything we do — and don’t — know about the snafu. What exactly is the issue? Telecom companies have rolled out 5G networks to various locations across the United States over the last few years, delivering the next generation of cellular phone data speeds. But on Wednesday, Verizon and AT&T turned on their C-band 5G networks — an important set of radio frequencies that will supercharge the internet as we know it. Unfortunately, the C-Band sits near the band of frequencies used by aircraft radar altimeters, an instrument that tells pilots how high their plane is off the ground and is crucial for landing airplanes in low visibility conditions. The Federal Communications Commission auctioned off the C-band spectrum to US wireless carriers last year — an $81 billion sale. But airlines warned of dire consequences for transportation and the overall economy over concerns that the C-band technology could interfere with the radar altimeters that pilots use to land in low visibility conditions. (Airlines estimated 1,000 flight disruptions would occur each day following the rollout). On Tuesday, Emirates, Air India, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways all announced changes to some flights, citing the issue. Some have added back flights or switched aircraft. International carriers seemed to be caught off guard and had to act quickly because of the length of these long-haul flights. Domestic carriers have also said they’re monitoring the situation. Airlines for America, a trade association, said in a statement Wednesday that “because of the agreements the White House reached with AT&T and Verizon yesterday [to delay 5G deployment at major airports], thousands of flights are taking off and landing safety at airports across the country.” The FAA said in its own statement that it had also cleared more airplanes to fly safely near 5G towers, but “flights at some airports may still be affected.” “Even with these approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected,” the FAA said. “The FAA also continues to work with manufacturers to understand how radar altimeter data is used in other flight control systems. Passengers should check with their airlines for latest flight schedules.

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