FCC chairman wants to greenlight Ligado’s U.S.-wide 5G network

WASHINGTON: The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) circulated on Thursday a draft order asking FCC members to approve Ligado Networks’ low-power nationwide 5G network despite objections from the Defense Department and major U.S. airlines.

Ligado’s plan to use so-called L-Band spectrum, for which it holds some licenses, has come under criticism from some federal agencies and powerful lawmakers. The L-Band is also used for Global Positioning System (GPS) and other navigation systems because the signals can penetrate cloud cover. The Pentagon also uses the band for military purposes.