say. the issue here is the 5g radio spectrum, it operates on a similar part of the radio spectrum to what is called a radar altimeter. there s a critical piece of instrumentation in everything from commercial airliners to cargo planes, helicopters. they all need this to be able to tell their exact height above the ground, especially in low visibility continues, especially in those critical moments right before landing. now, the airlines say we could delay this once more, it was her delayed two weeks, we could also come up with a way to make sure these transmitters don t interfere when the airplane is closest to the ground, turn these off, essentially, near runways at airports. in this letter that airline ceos just sent the department of transportation, they say, quote, the ripple effects across both passenger and cargo operations, workforce and the broader economy, are simply in calculable. the nation s commerce will grind
overseas in europe. no interference with the airlines and with planes. but the u.s. aviation community says, listen, this is apples and oranges. yes, it s 5g, but we re operating on a little bit of a different spectrum on the radio spectrum, and they re not comfortable at all with the possibility of any interference that could cause problems for passenger planes. as you know, the united states aviation community has a zero tolerance right now for anything that could compromise safety. it s why the u.s. has such a good aviation safety record. they re simply not comfortable with taking the risk right now. tom costello, thank you for bringing us this breaking news this morning. appreciate it. you bet. a uk security force confirms to nbc news that the suspected hostage taker at a texas synagogue was the subject of a short low-level investigation by british intelligence in 2020.
a radio spectrum that could bleed over and interfere with a plane s radar altimeter. those altimeters bounce a signal off the ground to give pilots their precise distance to the ground 50, 40, 30 reporter: critical for landing in poor visibility warning of potential interference, the faa had told pilots they would not be able to use altimeters at more than 80 airports near 5g sites, including large airport hubs in houston, dallas, l.a., new york, chicago, and seattle the airlines warned that would lead to massive delays, diversions and cancellations as soon as wednesday. the faa has to go airport by airport, runway by runway and do an analysis to clear these runways at airports so that we can safely fly. reporter: but the cell phone industry, which already delayed the rollout twice and says 5g is safe at&t today took aim at the faa saying we ar frustrated by the faa s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5g technology without disruptin
pete, what do we know about at&t s decision? reporter: this is a huge development from at&t. it along with verizon is really behind the 5g push which is set to roll out tomorrow across the country far and wide, but issue here is that there are really serious aviation safety concerns that have been brought up by air. . they say the problem will lead to thousands of cancellations and delays and diverted flights. the big issue is with the 5g radio spectrum. it is so close, airlines say to radar altimeters, to what they use, a highly sensitive instrument that pilots use in critical phases of flight t.sends a radio beam down to the ground and bounces back up to the airplane to give them a hyper accurate reading of how close they are to the ground. airlines say they need this, especially in low visibility conditions. on a day like yesterday there, would have been 1,100 delays and diversions if this does cause errors, if this 5g system does cause errors with the radar altimeters. now at&t h
causing mischief and, in fact, annexed part of ukraine, just doesn t hold water. okay. ambassador ivo daalder, we always appreciate talking to you. thank you. my pleasure, alisyn. minutes ago, verizon joined at&t and delayed the activation of 5g on some towers around certain airports. airline executives have voiced safety concerns and predicted catastrophic disruptions to travel and commerce with the launch. cnn s aviation correspondent, pete munteen is here with us. pete, explain the problem and how we got to this urgent state today. reporter: alisyn, it seems like airlines are getting exactly what they wanted. just yesterday, airlines wrote the biden administration urging immediate action on the rollout of the 5g network, kind of hard to believe that the 5g radio network that is necessary for this rollout is on a similar radio spectrum to something in airplanes called a radar