Verizon and AT&T launch their 5G service after flight-safety delays — but they’ve got competition

Can you hear me now?... Yesterday Verizon and AT&T finally activated their faster 5G networks, which could power everything from crisper gaming and video chatting to VR and self-driving cars. Earlier this month airlines and regulators asked the phone carriers to delay the 5G rollout, warning it could cause "catastrophic disruption" for flights by interfering with planes’ navigation systems.

• The compromise: Verizon and AT&T launched yesterday - but agreed not to launch within two-mile “buffer zones” around 50 major airports.
• Some airlines canceled flights anyway: Airlines have also cut thousands of flights because of Omicron-related staffing shortages and bad weather.

Will the real 5G please turn on… AT&T and Verizon have offered “low-band” 5G (that’s usually not much faster than 4G) in the US for years, while spending billions building infrastructure to deploy the significantly faster “C-band” 5G. Verizon and AT&T together have paid nearly $70B for rights to use the newly available wavelengths that power C-band.

• In nearly 40 countries C-band 5G has already been deployed without disrupting airlines.
• But in the US millions of customers in buffer zones may have to wait a few more months until airlines, carriers, and regulators hash out an air-safety deal.