5G frequency will 'absolutely not' bring airplanes down: Former FCC chairman
Ajit Pai explains there's 'no science' behind 5G interfering with aviation safety
5G signals will 'absolutely not' bring planes down: Ajit Pai
Former FCC chairman Ajit Pai debunks concerns over 5G frequency impacting flight safety on rollout day.
The official 5G rollout has been delayed near some airports out of fear that signals will interfere with airplane safety, but former Federal Communications Commission [FCC] chairman Ajit Pai told "The Claman Countdown" that this concern is only a rumor.
"Absolutely not," he told FOX Business' Liz Claman. "For two years, when I was the chairman of the FCC, we studied this issue very carefully and we found no credible evidence that there’d be harmful interference to altimeters."
Even if complications with safety instruments developed, Pai explained, the FCC created a massive buffer zone of 200 MHz to separate altimeters from 5G.
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"So all of these concerns we find that are being litigated well after the auction even happened are just misplaced," he said. "There’s no science behind any of it."
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The former chairman blamed the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] for being "behind the curve" on the matter since they had been notified back in 2018 to express any concerns leading up to 5G implementation. And even though the FCC remedied their worries by building wide buffer zones, the FAA recently pushed the fear that planes would, as a result, fall from the sky.
"This is not based on the science and engineering," he said.
"I don’t know what it’s based on. But all I do know is that the FCC’s decision was based on very sound technical analysis and it’s important for that to continue in order for America to lead the world in 5G and wireless consumers to benefit from these better, faster services."
Tokyo, Japan - December 5, 2014: A United Airlines plane being serviced on the tarmac of Narita Airport. After its merger with Continental in 2010, United has become the world's largest airline. (istock)
With the FAA now expressing concern, several years later, Pai urged the public to question what the agency had been doing in the time since - alluding to their failure to raise any outstanding and credible objections earlier.
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Pai explained that 40 other countries have deployed 5G in the exact same band and that aviation safety has still been maintained. And, according to Pai, the assumption that U.S. 5G is any different is incorrect.
"The laws of physics don’t depend on what borders the service is operating within," he said.