Biden backed agreement to delay deployment of new 5G networks in the U.S.

U.S. President Joe Biden applauded the agreement reached between U.S. authorities and telecom carriers AT&T and Verizon to delay by two weeks the scheduled Jan. 5 rollout of 5G cellular networks because of potential threats to airline flight safety.

“My administration is committed to rapid deployment of 5G networks, minimizing disruption to air traffic and continuing to maintain the safest airspace in the world. Yesterday’s agreement is an important step in the right direction, and we are grateful to all parties for their cooperation and good faith,” Biden said in a statement.

The agreement reached ensures that there will be no significant disruptions to aviation flights over the next two weeks. “It will also allow us to significantly reduce disruptions in air operations when AT&T and Verizon launch their 5G networks on Jan. 19,” Biden said.

U.S. authorities are concerned that carriers’ use of 5G frequencies could affect flight safety because they are also used by some flight instrumentation. In this regard, the U.S. Department of Transportation has previously asked the industry’s major enterprises to delay the introduction of these networks.