Friday, January 17, 2020

U.S. Delegation Members Highlight U.S. Gains for 5G at International Conference

On January 7, 2020, the Federalist Society's Practice Group Podcast featured a teleforum discussion on "The Race to 5G and the World Radio Conference." The panel included Ambassador Grace Koh, who led the U.S. delegation to WRC-19, as well as the FCC's International Bureau Chief Thomas Sullivan. WRC-19 was held in Egypt and concluded its work in November 2019. The panelists offered interesting analysis of what was accomplished at WRC-19 regarding mobile wireless services, particularly regarding the use of mmWave spectrum for 5G services. Panel discussion also touched on U.S. cooperative efforts with regional partner nations, the 24 GHz band, and the postures of China and Russia at WRC-19. The podcast's page can be found here.

Free State Foundation scholars, including FSF President Randolph May, Visiting Senior Fellow Gregory Vogt, and myself have addressed 5G in a number of writings. Expect more from FSF scholars on 5G in 2020, including at the Free State Foundation's Twelfth Annual Telecom Policy Conference. This year's conference, Broadband Beyond 2020: Competition, Freedom, and Privacy, will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on March 10. Register for the conference here.

My June 2019 blog post, "U.S. Policymaker Should Stick to Their 24 GHz Spectrum Band Plan," addressed disagreement among certain federal agencies regarding the use of that recently-auctioned spectrum. Importantly, the panelists on the Federalist Society's January 7 teleforum acknowledged that the U.S. delegation had achieved a united front on the 24 GHz band when it arrived in Egypt for the WRC-19.