After airline outcry, AT&T and Verizon postpone 5G deployments near some airports [Updated]

Enlarge / American Airline planes sit on the tarmac at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, on January 15, 2022. (credit: Stefani Reynolds | Getty Images)

Update, January 18, 3:50 pm EST: Verizon and AT&T have said they will postpone the launch of their advanced 5G services near certain airports in response to airlines' threats to cancel flights. From the Financial Times:

AT&T said it had voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on" a limited number of 5G-enabled towers around certain airport runways" as it provides more information to airlines and regulators, but added it was launching its advanced 5G services elsewhere as planned.

Verizon also said it would launch its 5G ultra wideband" network on Wednesday, but had voluntarily decided to limit it around airports," without specifying the number of airports.

Original story: The imminent rollout of high-speed 5G telecoms services threatens to ground flights across the US, America's largest airlines warned on Monday, as they urged government agencies to intervene to avoid chaos" for passengers and incalculable" disruptions to supply chains.

The harm that will result from deployment on January 19 is substantially worse than we originally anticipated," warned Airlines for America, an industry lobby group, pointing to the potential for 5G services to interfere with the sensitive equipment that aircraft use to take off and land.

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