This week, two US telecommunications companies rejected a government request to delay the rollout of 5G services.
The request was made last week by US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration in response to concerns about aviation safety.
AT&T and Verizon, on the other hand, have stated that they will put in place temporary safeguards.
Plane manufacturers have warned that 5G wireless signals in the C-Band spectrum may interfere with sensitive aircraft electronics and disrupt flights.
According to the BBC, AT&T and Verizon CEOs said the proposal to postpone the launch of 5G services for a fortnight would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks.”
However, they also stated that they would not deploy 5G around airports for six months, as France has done.
“The laws of physics are the same in the United States and France,” the letter stated. If US airlines are allowed to fly every day in France, they should be able to do so in the United States under the same operating conditions.”
According to the FAA, conditions in France differ, including the fact that telecom firms operating in that country use lower power levels for 5G than are permitted in the United States.
The aviation industry and the FAA have previously expressed concerns about potential 5G interference with aircraft equipment such as radio altitude meters.
Airbus and Boeing recently made an appeal to Buttigieg, stating that “5G interference could adversely affect aircraft’s ability to operate safely.”
