The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is giving the green light to Verizon and AT&T to turn on their C-band spectrum near more airports.
The announcement came Friday after the FAA had been complaining about the potential for C-band signals to interfere with the altimeters on aircraft. The agency suggested that it received “more precise data” from the carriers.
“The FAA appreciates the strong communication and collaborative approach with wireless companies, which have provided more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments,” the FAA said in a statement.
The FAA used this data to determine that it’s 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 agency said. “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.”
Both Verizon and AT&T deferred comment to industry association CTIA, which welcomed the news.
“This is a positive development that highlights the considerable progress the wireless industry, aviation industry, FAA and FCC are making to ensure robust 5G service and safe flights,” said Nick Ludlum, SVP/chief communications officer at CTIA.
RELATED: Lawmakers set to hear from aviation on C-band
Speaking of the FCC, it’s the agency charged with carrying out spectrum policies but it was thrown under the bus, so to speak, while the FAA and airlines cried foul over C-band.
The FCC granted the C-band licenses to Verizon and AT&T, which paid billions of dollars for the spectrum rights in a public auction, after determining a 220-megahertz guard band was sufficient to protect aircraft altimeters.
But the FAA and airlines said that wasn’t enough to guarantee the safe operation of aircraft.
In November, AT&T and Verizon said they would delay their commercial C-band-based wireless services by a month to allow the FAA to assess any impact on aviation safety. The carriers later delayed their launches again, until January 19, but the airlines and FAA were not ready for that either, saying the nation’s commerce would “grind to a halt” if the C-band deployments were allowed to go forward as planned.
Ultimately, Verizon and AT&T launched their C-band – with AT&T’s being in only eight markets – on January 19, but held back in areas around designated airports, providing buffer zones of up to 2 miles in some cases. According to Reuters, about 500 of the 510 towers that weren't turned on last week are Verizon towers.
RELATED: Verizon, AT&T kick off C-band amid aviation overhang
On Thursday, the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) revising the landing requirements for Boeing 737 MAX airplanes at airports where 5G interference could occur.
The agency said that continued collaboration between the FAA and wireless companies meant that the agency was able to clear an estimated 90% of the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet, including the Boeing 737 MAX, for most low-visibility approaches in 5G deployment.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issued the following statement on Friday: “I am pleased to see that the FAA is starting to roll back some of the protections it requested for aviation technologies, based on sound science and engineering principles. There is more work to do, but continued collaboration, information sharing, and a recommitment to science will help confirm what we already know: that 5G deployment can safely co-exist with aviation technologies in the United States, just as it does in other countries around the world.”