5G C-Band is rolling out Wednesday amid ongoing debate about the technology and whether it is safe to use near airports. The concern is that the C-Band radio frequencies that were previously not available to carriers overlap the signals used by some aviation equipment. Most notably, some altimeters operate in a conflicting range and help airplanes track how far they are from the ground, a critical piece of information when landing.
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) opened up a wide range of frequencies and auctioned to carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and others, to facilitate faster mobile internet. The total value was about $80 billion, so carriers are heavily invested. C-Band frequencies were sold in Feb. of 2021, so this issue has been dragging on for nearly a year. The discussion began immediately, but opinions about how much of an impact this would have varied. As a result, the launch of C-Band 5G was delayed several times.
With an ominous warning one day before the final launch of 5G C-Band, several airlines banded together and sent a letter demanding immediate action to prevent catastrophic disruptions. As a result, Verizon and AT&T have agreed to hold off on using 5G C-Band frequencies near airports. However, the rollout is still happening elsewhere. After such a considerable investment, carriers are frustrated by the ongoing controversy, pointing out that 5G is fully operational in more than 40 other countries, including near airports. Verizon and AT&T voluntarily agreed to the delay, but Bloomberg reports that carriers have not shared how long they are willing to wait or which airports will have delayed rollouts. It is all in flux at the moment, but enough has been done to allow 5G C-Band to launch in most areas without further complaints.
Is 5G Banned At Airports?
Despite the heated discussion about 5G and warnings of danger and delays, it's important to clarify that 5G hasn't been banned at airports. Various types of 5G operate at different radio frequencies, and most are still available. Any 5G signals that were already covering the area surrounding airports will continue to work.
Sub-6 and mmWave are unaffected by the latest news. Only 5G C-Band was an issue, and it launches Wednesday in most areas as planned. This turmoil only impacts about 10-percent of the regions that were ready to be activated. Eventually, C-Band should be available everywhere, improving 5G connectivity for a much more significant portion of the population.