The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released a list of 50 airports that it contends will need “buffer zones” for 5G cellular spectrum, the latest in a months-long and escalating public fight between the agency and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Rather than a mere regulatory turf battle, the differences this internecine spectacle illustrates in how these two agencies think about risk and understand the purposes of regulation reflect basic divisions that run throughout our politics.
On the surface, the fight between the FAA and FCC is a technocratic disagreement about the use of spectrum in the 3.7GHz band for 5G wireless services. The FAA, backed by Boeing and Airbus, is concerned that allowing cellular carriers to use this spectrum will interfere with avionics systems on some aircraft. The FCC, which spent years studying the issue, has developed usage rules that it believes address interference concerns. The FCC’s rules are similar to those that have been used by wireless carriers in Europe without incident and seek to accommodate the aviation industry’s concerns.
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