A Safety Inquiry on 5G Deployments at US Airports Balloons

(From Network Computing) What started in December as a request for information from the Department of Transportation (DOT) – on possible safety issues with 5G rollouts near U.S. airports – has since escalated. Airline owners are now warning of further air travel chaos, and foreign carriers have begun canceling flights to the U.S. The situation has since drawn the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), aviators, airplane equipment manufacturers, airline CEOs, and the Biden administration into the fray.

Earlier this week, CEOs of U.S. airlines wrote a letter (first published by Reuters) to officials at the FCC, FAA, DOT, and White House National Economic Council, expressing concerns over 5G interference with airline equipment. They requested “that 5G be implemented everywhere in the country except within the approximate two miles of airport runways at affected airports,” saying it would allow the cellular service to be deployed without broader harmful impacts to air travel, shipping, supply chain, and medical supply delivery.

AT&T and Verizon have agreed to government requests to delay launching 5G services within a two-mile radius of airport runways. President Biden said his administration will continue working toward a long-term solution.

Read the Full Story on Network Computing