The next generation wireless network, known as 5G, is like an abstract painting, and you can make it whatever you want.
- For some, 5G is a “wireless cable,” a way to deliver video and high-speed internet just like a cable system.
- For others, 5G is the game-changing technology needed to process large amounts of data that will enable new features like self-driving cars and remote surgery.
- For Sprint and T-Mobile, the cost of building out 5G justifies the merger, which would reduce consumer choice from four national wireless carriers to three.
- For AT&T, the faster 4G network is not “true 5G,” but has been rebranded as “5G-E.”
- For satellite companies currently licensed to use potential 5G spectrum, this is an opportunity to sell something they paid nothing for at a windfall profit.
- For Donald Trump, 5G is a political issue sparking nationalist outrage over “competition” with China.
- For the Trump Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 5G is an excuse to pre-empt local governments’ decisions to install antennas.
- For the wireless industry, 5G is an opportunity to power something new that could open up much-needed new revenue streams.
It’s time to bring order to chaos. It’s time to look beyond politics and marketing to consider both the promise of 5G and the challenges to making it a reality.
wrong metaphor
First of all, calling 5G a “race” is a deceptive metaphor. “Race” means a competition along a common course with a start and finish. In reality, 5G networks will be built out piece by piece, area by area, and application by application over many years. We must act with a long-term vision. There’s nothing wrong with aiming to win on the first lap, but reaching the final result requires long-term strategy and commitment.
When “races” exist, those with the widest coverage have an advantage. For example, without universal coverage, how can 5G become the network for controlling self-driving cars? It does not cover all neighborhoods of the city. All the promise of 5G-controlled vehicles disappears if the vehicles can’t drive anywhere.
Of course, it’s always rural America that comes last. According to the FCC, more than 20 million rural Americans lack access to high-speed broadband networks. Rural America was the last to see 4G wireless. The same fate will likely apply to 5G unless something positive happens. All the great stories about how 5G will bring metropolitan-level remote surgery to rural clinics are empty promises without the necessary coverage.
Era of national strategy
A national strategy for 5G needs to be more than a slogan or a press release. We must focus on the two most important factors for the success of 5G in the United States: ubiquitous coverage and network security.
For 5G to deliver on its promise, its deployment must be improved over 4G. Redlining urban expansion areas not only denies service to those communities, but also slows down the development of 5G applications due to reduced coverage areas. Continuing the “last rural” precedent for broadband service will perpetuate the disenfranchisement of large numbers of Americans.
Building 5G is expensive. Building multiple redundant networks on top of each other only increases the cost of construction. Twenty-five years ago, in the early days of digital wireless networks, the wireless industry created a single, shared network to save costs and speed coverage in a given area. Consumers didn’t know they were sharing the same network, and competition between companies remained fierce. But the new technology scaled more quickly because costs were shared rather than duplicated. If the Trump administration encouraged wireless companies to build shared networks, they could be built faster and cover more people, including in rural areas, while offering competitive options to consumers.
Unfortunately, the already significant costs of building 5G are rising. President Trump has said that it is “essential for the United States to lead the way in fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology,” but the trade war with China will make it more costly for American companies than for Chinese companies. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the trade war “could increase the cost of wireless infrastructure by hundreds of millions of dollars at a critical moment” as much equipment would be subject to special tariffs of up to 25 percent. he pointed out.
Protect your network
5G networks must also ensure cybersecurity. Cyber threats to 5G prompted President Trump’s National Security Council staff to explore solutions to protect the network, including national ownership of shared networks. After the report was leaked and the industry complained, the air force general responsible for the report, who was Beijing’s defense attaché, was fired. President Trump’s latest presidential memorandum on 5G does not mention the word cyber at all.
Simply put, networks that are not cyber-secure are less used and do not incentivize innovators to build new applications. Unfortunately, the Trump FCC has scrapped the 5G cyber protection plan initiated by the Obama FCC. The Trump FCC even questions whether the agencies entrusted with the nation’s networks are responsible for the cybersecurity of those networks.
The United States needs to go all-in on 5G. This means doing more than 4G to speed up ubiquitous service to all Americans. That also means requiring a cybersecurity-secure network. Unfortunately, instead of coaching such strategies, we are given slogans and told to go to the races.
