The rollout of new wireless technology on AT&T and Verizon’s networks will not go ahead as planned this week, according to an announcement from the carriers. This comes after the Federal Aviation Administration asked for a second voluntary delay to ensure that the new C-band frequencies won’t pose a danger to air travel. Initially, AT&T and Verizon were steadfastly against this, but they reversed course quite abruptly early this week. Instead of going live on January 5th, AT&T and Verizon will get to fire up the C-band in about two weeks, give or take.
This dispute goes back almost two years, long before Verizon and AT&T purchased their c-band licenses during the January 2021 auction. The FCC warned the aviation industry that the C-band spectrum was about to become more active. Satellite TV operators previously used the C-band, but the move to newer technologies freed it up for cellular networks. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) built in a few hundred megahertz of buffer between C-band (around 4GHz) and the spectrum used in radio altimeters (3.7-3.8GHz), but it wanted airlines to make sure all of its equipment met current standards.
In a letter seen by the Wall Street Journal, the carriers claim that the aviation industry dragged its feet, and they have already been very accommodating by delaying the C-band launch from December 5th to January 5th. The carriers also agreed to lower transmission power on the C-band for six months while the aviation industry evaluated any possible interference with cockpit systems.
A 5G millimeter wave cell site on a light pole in Minneapolis.
In the letter, AT&T and Verizon offered to further limit C-band power using France as a model, which is considered one of the more conservative countries in controlling 5G frequencies. France already has 5G operating in the C-band, and the FAA lets US airlines fly into and out of French airspace without any additional restrictions. That apparently wasn’t good enough for regulators. AT&T says Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg requested the delay on behalf of the FAA, and the company is “confident further collaboration and technical assessment will allay any issues.”
Despite their head start in 4G, both Verizon and AT&T are lagging behind in the era of 5G, and it’s not hard to see why they’re anxious to get moving. T-Mobile is sitting pretty on a pile of mid-band spectrum it acquired in the Sprint merger, giving it plenty of room for its 5G network. AT&T and Verizon have been relegated to high-frequency millimeter wave 5G and a smattering of low-band signals, neither of which are ideal for 5G on mobile devices. Both carriers already have devices on their networks with latent support for the C-band. All they need to do is light it up, and it sounds like that’ll happen on January 5th, whether the FAA likes it or not.
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