EXHIBIT 5.1 August 2, 1999 AirGate PCS, Inc. Harris Tower 233 Peachtree Street, N.W. Suite 1700 Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Re: AirGate PCS, Inc. Registration Statement on Form S-1 Ladies and Gentlemen: We have acted as special counsel to AirGate PCS, Inc., a Delaware corporation, originally incorporated under the name AirGate Wireless, Inc. (the "Company") in connection with a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the "Registration Statement") pertaining to the registration of $106.7 million of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Stock"), and $150 million of the Company's Senior Subordinated Discount Notes (the "Notes") due 2009 being offered by the Company or such additional amounts of Common Stock and Notes as may be registered in connection with this offering and pursuant to an abbreviated registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). We have examined such documents and records as we deemed appropriate, including the following: (i) The Company's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. (ii) The Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws. (iii) Resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing the filing of the Registration Statement. In the course of our examination, we have assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents. In making our examination of documents executed by parties other than the Company, we have assumed that such parties had the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, and execution and delivery by such parties of such documents and the validity, binding effect and enforceability thereof on such parties. AirGate PCS, Inc. August 2, 1999 Page 2 Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that: The shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized, and when issued subject to effectiveness of the Registration Statements, will be validly issued by the Company, fully paid and nonassessable. We express no opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware and the federal laws of the United States of America. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, to the incorporation by reference of this opinion in any abbreviated registration statement, in connection with the offering covered by the Registration Statement, filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act and to the reference to our firm under the caption "Legal Matters" contained in the Prospectus included therein. Very truly yours, PATTON BOGGS LLP By: /s/ Mary M. Sjoquist ------------------------------------- Mary M. Sjoquist