Amid the FAA’s restrictions regarding 5G rollout and aircraft interference, Verizon has announced its plans to turn on 2,000 additional towers this month. Reuters reported that the deployment is the next phase of Verizon’s C-band 5G initiative.
Verizon already went live with 5,100 towers in January, and the total could rise as “aviation buffer zones are refined.” According to Reuters, all towers were scheduled to turn on in December 2021, but concerns over interference with sensitive airplane electronics delayed the deployment. As of February 1, Verizon offered its 5G C-band service to 100 million people. The company intends to “exceed that goal” while working with the FAA to continue discussions.
According to the FAA, new data has enabled the agency to “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,” Inside Towers reported. The information will allow Verizon to deploy about 70 towers (out of 500) held up since January, according to Reuters.
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