Nobody thinks it’s a good idea, including the FCC.
By Emily Stewart Jan 29, 2018, 4:10pm EST
National security officials are reportedly considering a plan to nationalize the United States’ next-generation 5G wireless network in an effort to guard against competitive and cybersecurity threats from China.
It would be an unprecedented move — especially from a Republican administration. And so President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission, which would be a major player in such a project, immediately pushed back.
This all started Sunday, when Axios reported that officials at the National Security Council have put together a memo saying that America needs a centralized nationwide 5G network within the next three years. It proposes that the best option would be for the US government pay for and build the network and then rent it to carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
5G is shorthand for the “fifth generation” of wireless networks and would follow, as its name suggest, the current 4G, or fourth generation, system. It would offer faster speeds and greater capacity than previous generations and accommodate new technologies, such as self-driving cars, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things. Both AT&T and Verizon have plans to roll out 5G service in limited markets this year.
Reports of the memo pushing for a government-built and -controlled 3G network, which have been confirmed by other outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Recode, have caused a stir in the telecommunications industry, in Washington, and even among members of Trump’s own administration. FCC Chair Ajit Pai, a Republican who was tapped by Trump to head the commission, on Monday morning came out in opposition of any such proposal for the government to nationalize a 5G network.
“The market, not the government, is best positioned to drive innovation and investment,” he said, parroting what would seem to be the obvious GOP position on the issue.
Read more
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/29/16946582/trump-5g-proposal-wireless-ajit-pai-fcc-china
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