"Axios notes that this would be 'a marked shift from the current system where
those companies each build their own systems with their own equipment, and with
airwaves leased from the federal government.'"
Yes, indeed, but let's not pretend that everything about this state of affairs
is ideal. A counterexample is OTA TV. There is one standard and one slice of
spectrum, that the TV networks share, throughout the country. There's a lot to
be said for that type of scheme, and it could apply to cellular too.
Bert
--------------------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/axios-trump-team-considers-nationalizing-5g/282646
Axios: Trump Team Considers Nationalizing 5G
Threat from China said to be a key impetus for the idea; FCC chairman is
strongly opposed
January 29, 2018
By Paul McLane
WASHINGTON--Could America's 5G network be nationalized by the federal
government in the next three years, becoming a "21st century equivalent of the
Eisenhower National Highway System"?
It's a dramatic possibility raised by a Trump national security official,
according to a story published over the weekend by Axios. But all three
Republicans on the Federal Communications Commission, including the chairman,
immediately sought to squash the idea in statements Monday, and the White House
subsequently downplayed the story.
Axios is a news site founded in 2016 by three former top executives at
Politico. Its story said internal administration documents argue that to
protect against China, America needs a centralized nationwide 5G network, and
that they outline an option under which the government would pay for and build
a single network - essentially a federal takeover of part of the U.S. mobile
communications system.
The material was produced by a "senior National Security Council official,"
according to Axios, and presented recently to leaders at other agencies.
According to Axios, one internal presentation states that China "is the
dominant malicious actor in the Information Domain," and that the best way to
respond would be for the government to build a network and rent access to
carriers.
Axios notes that this would be "a marked shift from the current system where
those companies each build their own systems with their own equipment, and with
airwaves leased from the federal government."
Such internal long-term discussions are common in Washington. One source told
Axios that the draft in question was an "old" one and a newer version is
neutral about whether the government should build and own it. The documents
also outline other possible plans, including a market consortium approach that
still would involve more cooperation among competitors than is currently the
case. The carrier industry is a powerful one on the Hill. And Axios notes that
U.S. deployment of 5G infrastructure is already well underway in the private
marketplace. AT&T told the news outlet that 5G launch in the country is
"already well down the road."
According to the website Recode, White House officials also emphasized that the
document as published was dated. "They also stressed it had merely been floated
by a staff member, not a reflection of some imminent, major policy announcement
- and probably might never be."
But it's a subject with vast implications, raising the possibility of a federal
process for installing wireless equipment, regulating wireless sales and in the
longer term influencing development of artificial intelligence, virtual
reality, autonomous cars and the Internet of Things.
Ajit Pai, chairman of the FCC named to that position by President Trump,
immediately reacted: "I oppose any proposal for the federal government to build
and operate a nationwide 5G network," he said in a statement. "The main lesson
to draw from the wireless sector's development over the past three
decades-including American leadership in 4G-is that the market, not government,
is best positioned to drive innovation and investment. What government can and
should do is to push spectrum into the commercial marketplace and set rules
that encourage the private sector to develop and deploy next-generation
infrastructure. Any federal effort to construct a nationalized 5G network would
be a costly and counterproductive distraction from the policies we need to help
the United States win the 5G future."
Fellow Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly was more colorful: "I've seen
lead balloons before tried in D.C. but this is like a balloon made out of a
Ford Pinto."
The wireless industry concurred.
"The wireless industry agrees that winning the race to 5G is a national
priority," said CTIA President Meredith Attwell Baker, but she signaled
industry should be the one driving that train: "The government should pursue
the free market policies that enabled the U.S. wireless industry to win the
race to 4G."
The president is expected to talk about infrastructure needs in his State of
the Union speech Jan. 30.
John Eggerton contributed to this story.
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