American aviation has got the Biden administration involved in a 5G postponement, but the developers refuse. Bloomberg reporter Annmarie Hordern briefs.
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The 5G rollout in the US is scheduled to start on Wednesday this week, but in a letter on New Year’s Eve, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the head of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Steve Dickson, called for a postponement of up to two weeks.
According to Bloomberg, they predict a potential “widespread and unacceptable disruption” of air traffic, since aircraft will avoid airports soaked in 5G signals that can affect the electronics in use during landing.
A two-week postponement is intended to give the FAA and the aviation industry the necessary time to identify airports where a buffer zone will allow “continued safe flights.”
– Groundless request
The CEOs of the two developers, Hans Vestberg of Verizon and John Stankey of AT&T, rejected the “unfounded” request in a joint reply letter on Sunday, writing that a postponement would be detrimental to millions of mobile phone users. At the same time, they are keeping the door ajar for a six-month break at some airports, in line with a model that was followed in France.
SWEDISH SAYS NO: Verizon boss Hans Vestberg. Foto: Bloomberg
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The letter from the telecom leaders has got Airlines for America on the (runway), and “without appropriate damage mitigation measures”, the employers’ organization estimates according to the news agency a “worst case” where 345,000 commercial flights and 32 million passengers are affected annually – in the form of either postponements, redirects or cancellations.
The total cost of the disruption is estimated at $ 2.1 billion, a calculation that also includes up to 5,400 cargo flights.
Airlines for America later on Sunday received support from the largest American pilot association, the Air Line Pilots Association.
Huge sums in play
The Verizon and AT&T executives, for their part, argue that the power of the signals is low enough to rule out interference, and that the distances between the frequencies are sufficient to ensure safety. At the same time, they believe the 5G rollout must be a priority in view of the race with China and a sharply rising demand for wireless services as a result of the corona pandemic.
The rollout also represents huge investments for the telecom industry, which paid over $ 80 billion in the auctions for the relevant frequencies.
AT&T and Verizon have previously agreed to reduce the power of their 5G signals, and to postpone the rollout from the original launch in December.
The Department of Transportation and the FAA are now reviewing the response from the parties, writing in a joint email Sunday that “U.S. aviation safety standards will guide our next actions.”
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