FCC Chairman Backs L-Band Spectrum for 5G After Decade of Pushback From Pentagon

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket with a payload of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 18, 2020. John Raoux/AP Photo

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft order on Thursday asking the five-member panel to approve Ligado Networks Company’s request to deploy a low-power nationwide network to support next-generation 5G wireless.

“We have compiled an extensive record, which confirms that it is in the public interest to grant Ligado’s application while imposing stringent conditions to prevent harmful interference,” Pai said in a statement (pdf). “The draft order that I have presented to my colleagues would make more efficient use of underused spectrum and promote the deployment of 5G and Internet of Things services.”