WASHINGTON — Concern about new high-speed wireless service interfering with airplanes appears to be easing.
Federal safety regulators said Friday they have cleared the way for Verizon and AT&T to turn on more 5G towers.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the move is possible because the telecom companies are providing more information about the location of their wireless transmitters.
“Through continued technical collaboration, the FAA, Verizon, and AT&T have agreed on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service,” the FAA said in a statement.
Aviation groups and the FAA had warned that 5G service could interfere with planes because it uses part of the radio spectrum that is close to that used by radio altimeters on planes.
Altimeters measure the height of planes above the ground, and they're crucial for landing when visibility is poor because of bad weather.
According to the FAA's website, about 90% of the U.S. commercial fleet is now at least partially protected against 5G interference. These figures are expected to be revised in the next few days as more cell towers across the nation are activated, as stated on the website.
While other countries like Japan and France have also begun to roll-out 5G with little hurdles from the aviation industry, the FAA has noted that antennas and cell towers in these countries use lower power levels, different positioning and different frequencies that would be unlikely to interfere with avionics.
Diego Mendoza contributed to this report