FAA has announced that it has finally reached an agreement with Verizon and AT&T to deploy C-Band 5G near Airports. FAA says it has found common ground "on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service."

According to FAA, Verizon and AT&T have provided the location of 5G towers and a "thorough analysis of how 5G C-Band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments." After reviewing and working with the carriers, FAA has decided that it will give permission to the carriers to roll out C-Band 5G near airports.

The FAA used this data to determine that it is possible to safely and more precisely map the size and shape of the areas around airports where 5G signals are mitigated, shrinking the areas where wireless operators are deferring their antenna activations. This will enable the wireless providers to safely turn on more towers as they deploy new 5G service in major markets across the United States. The FAA continues to work with helicopter operators and others in the aviation community to ensure they can safely operate in areas of current and planned 5G deployment.

In January, FAA was worriedabout the interference of C-Band 5G with radio altimeters used in airplanes. So when AT&T and Verizon flipped the switch on January 19th, 2022, they decided that they won't transmit the 5G C-band spectrum from towers near airports. But cellular towers that are not near the airports were cleared to use C-Band 5G.

But now, FAA has cleared Verizon and AT&T to broadcast C Band 5G spectrum near airports and the carriers will look to implement it soon. However, none of the providers have given an official statement on when the roll out can be expected. On a related note, though, AT&T announced its new Unlimited Max prepaid 5G plan that offers unlimited 5G data for $45/month earlier today.

Source: FAA | Via: Engadget