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No more 5G towers near Akron-Canton Airport for the next six months per FAA deal

4G and 5G telecommunication tower
K. Phrom
/
Shutterstock
5G cell-phone towers use the same C-band frequency as the communication equipment used to safely land airplanes.

Akron-Canton Regional Airport is among 50 airports nationwide that are part of an Federal Aviation Administration deal to pause the installation of nearby 5G towers.

The FAA issued a statement last week acknowledging that 5G signals could be a risk under certain landing conditions.

Some 5G frequencies can interfere with airplane altimeters.

President and CEO Ren Camacho says he has not heard of any problems at Akron/Canton Airport.

President and CEO Ren Camacho
No announcements from airlines

“We have had no issues with airlines making announcements that they’re going to, for instance, direct their flight to another airport or cancel or delay due to this 5G issue. If anything it would be attributed to what we normally attribute to at this time of year which is weather," Camacho said.

He says ground communications within the airport terminal and between staff and passengers are not affected.

The FAA’s deal includes a six-month pause in the installment of any new 5G cell-phone towers within a 2-mile radius of airports.

Camacho says the Akron-Canton Airport is waiting to hear from the FAA on what will happen after this buffer period.

Jay Shah was an associate producer for the “Sound of Ideas” until May 2024.