Editorial Board
Don’t Let the FAA Ground 5G
The benefits of widespread 5G deployment could be profound. Questionable air-safety concerns shouldn’t get in the way.
All clear.
Photographer: Wolfram Schroll/Bloomberg
Rarely has an arcane interagency dispute proved so needlessly disruptive.
On Dec. 5, wireless carriers had expected to begin rolling out 5G, the next standard for cellular networks, on a critical new frequency known as the C-band. The deployment promised increased bandwidth, faster transmissions, wider range, and many new possibilities for wireless devices and apps, potentially turning a useful technology into a transformative one.