Monday, January 29, 2018

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Opposes a Nationalized 5G Network

On Sunday, Axios reported that members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council are considering nationalizing America’s 5G wireless networks. The documents released by Axios outline a plan in which the federal government would build and pay for a single 5G network in response to China's "dominant position in the manufacture and operation of network infrastructure.” The documents make it clear that this proposal is designed to protect the United States from China and other bad actors.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai quickly announced his opposition to the proposal:
I oppose any proposal for the federal government to build and operate a nationwide 5G network. 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.