WASHINGTON, Jan 2 — US authorities have asked telecom operators AT&T and Verizon to delay for up to two weeks their already postponed rollout of 5G networks amid uncertainty about interference with vital flight safety equipment.The US rollout of the high-speed mobile broadband technology had been set for December 5, but was delayed to January 5 after aerospace giants Airbus and Boeing raised concerns about potential interference with the devices planes use to measure altitude.
Asked by AFP for comment, Verizon spokesman Rich Young replied, “We’ve received the government’s letter after 6pm on New Year’s Eve. We’re in the process of reviewing it.”In the letter, the US officials assure the companies that 5G service will be able to begin “as planned in January with certain exceptions around priority airports.”
But when Airbus and Boeing raised their concerns about possible interference with airplanes’ radio altimeters — which can operate at the same frequencies — the launch date was pushed back to January.