President Joe Biden Praises Deal Between 5G Network Provider And Aviation Representative

US President Joe Biden with his wife, Jill Biden. (photo: twitter @potus)

JAKARTA - US President Joe Biden has lauded a deal struck between wireless carriers and US regulators that will allow the deployment of new 5G wireless in two weeks and avoid an aviation safety crisis.

AT&T and Verizon Communications agreed late Monday, January 3, to delay deployment of C-Band wireless spectrum until January 19 but won a major guarantee that they would be able to start service this month. This was revealed according to a Ministry of Transportation letter seen by Reuters.

The delay comes after pressure from the White House, aviation unions, and threats by airlines to file a lawsuit to block the deployment of a 5G network that could disrupt thousands of flights every day.

Biden said "the agreement ensures that there will be no disruption to air operations over the next two weeks and puts us on track to substantially reduce disruption to air operations when AT&T and Verizon launch 5G on January 19."

The aviation industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have raised concerns about the potential for 5G interference to sensitive aircraft electronics such as radio altimeters that could interfere with flights.

Verizon Chief Executive Hans Vestberg told employees Tuesday, January 4, in an email that they don't see any aviation safety issues with 5G, but said the FAA "intends to disrupt the already difficult time for air travel if we proceed with planned activations. We felt that it was the right thing to do for the aviation community, which includes our customers and all of us, to give the FAA a little time to work things out with the aviation community."

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA chief administrator Steve Dickson told AT&T and Verizon in a letter Monday, also seen by Reuters, that the agency would not seek further delays in deploying 5G wireless services beyond January 19 without "unexpected flight safety issue."

The agreement "will give us additional time and space to reduce the impact on commercial aviation," they wrote.

The accompanying "final terms sheet" says unless "unexpected flight safety issues" arise, US agencies "will not seek or demand further delays in C-Band deployment, in whole or in part, including delays in returning to routine operations."

Airlines for America, the group representing carriers American Airlines, FedEx Corp, Delta Air Lines, and others, had prepared to file the lawsuit last Monday night without delay, industry officials told reporters.

A wireless industry official told Reuters the deal gave them assurances that they would be able to start deployments this month.

AT&T and Verizon had agreed on Sunday, January 2 to adopt a six-month exclusion zone around some airports in a bid to reflect the protections adopted by France, but have rejected Buttigieg's request for a delay of up to two weeks.

The letter said that as of last Friday, regulators would provide carriers with a "list of no more than 50 priority airports that they would propose to submit to the C-Band exclusion zone" that AT&T and Verizon had proposed on Sunday.

Additional requests may be made for "voluntary surgical mitigation measures at any individual airport" but AT&T and Verizon "will have the sole discretion to determine whether the requested mitigations, adjustments, or changes will be made."

AT&T and Verizon won nearly all of the C-Band spectrum in an auction worth $80 billion last year. In total, Verizon paid $52.9 billion for spectrum, including incentive payments and clearing fees, to reach more than 100 million Americans, while AT&T paid $23.4 billion.

AT&T and Verizon in November initially agreed to delay deployment for 30 days until January 5 after the FAA raised safety concerns and carriers adopted voluntary precautions for six months.