Following weeks of delays and kerfuffle from conflicts with the aviation industry, wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon on Wednesday began deploying C-Band 5G spectrum to improve the availability of 5G connectivity for users across the United States.
AT&T’s C-Band spectrum is live in limited parts of eight metro areas that include Austin, Chicago, Dallas Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Orlando, and South Florida. AT&T is taking a careful approach to the rollout, but the carrier says that C-Band spectrum will “expand rapidly” as part of a ramp up in its “thoughtful and efficient deployment.” iPhone users who have access to AT&T’s C-Band network or previously existing mmWave connectivity will see a “5G+” indicator in the iPhone’s cellular status bar. As for Verizon, the company earlier this month announced plans to expand its 5G Ultra Wideband service to 1,700 cities later in January, and that expansion started today with the launch of C-Band spectrum. Verizon users shared details on where Verizon’s 5G connectivity has suddenly improved, noting the locations where C-Band connectivity is live. Verizon users will see a “5G UW” indicator.
There have also been reports of C-Band activity having gone line from across the United States, including Los Angeles, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Rochester, and many other smaller cities. Verizon has stated that it expects to bring C-Band rollout, along with faster 5G speeds, to more than 100 million people, but has yet to offer a C-Band coverage map to the public for dissemination.
Where speeds are concerned, AT&T’s 5G+ and Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband protocols are up to 10x faster than LTE speeds and can hit upwards of a gigabit per second.
Though impressive, both Verizon and AT&T have his a wall with their C-Band deployment near airport runways, as the wireless carriers and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has postponed deployment in order to sort out potential issues between the 5G networks and altimeter instruments found on older airplanes.
Earlier this week, major U.S. airlines penned an urgent letter warning that the 5G rollout could cause a “catastrophic” crisis resulting in cancelled, delayed, and diverted flights. The conflict, under certain conditions, could potentially cause a plane’s altimeter to display the wrong altitude, which could endanger flights during operation.
As such, the FAA has temporary implemented buffer zones surrounding 50 major airports with wireless transmitters close to runways. AT&T and Verizon will block off a two mile zone around affected airports to address concerns.
Airlines and the two carriers have expressed frustrations over the FAA’s lack of action, as the agency has had years to prepare. C-Band spectrum went up for auction in late 2020, with Verizon paying $45 billion and AT&T paying $23 billion for access.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors, Reddit, and AT&T
