Officials Ask AT&T, Verizon to Delay 5G Wireless Over Aviation Safety Concerns

Officials Ask AT&T, Verizon to Delay 5G Wireless Over Aviation Safety Concerns
A contract crew from Verizon installs 5G telecommunications equipment on a tower in Orem, Utah, on Dec. 3, 2019. George Frey/Reuters
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WASHINGTON—Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday asked AT&T and Verizon Communications to delay the planned Jan. 5 introduction of new 5G wireless service over aviation safety concerns.

In a letter Friday seen by Reuters, Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asked AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey and Verizon Chief Executive Hans Vestberg for a delay of no more than two weeks as part of a “proposal as a near-term solution for advancing the co-existence of 5G deployment in the C-Band and safe flight operations.”