Fifty Airports Have 5G "Buffer Zones"

Jan. 12, 2022

The FAA has published a list of 50 U.S. airports that will have buffer zones, or areas where wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon have agreed to limit 5G signals for six months.

In a statement, the FAA said it worked with the aviation community to determine where the buffer zones would reduce the risk of disruptions, considering factors such as traffic volume, the number of low-visibility days, and geographic location. The agency said that many airports are not currently affected by AT&T and Verizon’s upcoming 5G deployment, a service the companies will activate on Jan. 19 after various delays.

The buffer zones aim to reduce the potential interference of 5G antennas with airplane instruments, called radar altimeters, that tell pilots how far they are from the ground.

Major airports on the list include Chicago O'Hare and airports in Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami. Read the story here.

Source: Gizmodo