A report released on November 18 by Accenture titled "5G Fixed Wireless Broadband: Helping Close the Digital Divide in Rural America." The report identifies the potential of next-generation fixed wireless services to provide capacious and high-speed broadband Internet services in hard-to-reach geographical areas. According to the report: "By leveraging advances in wireless network technologies like 5G, an FWA connection can potentially deliver sustained download speeds, through the air, of 1 Gbps up to four miles." Also, “[a]s advanced 5G technology rolls out with high-band spectrum, FWA will have 10 to 100 times more capacity than 4G" and "future 5G-enabled FWA services will provide ultra-reliable service with under 10 millisecond latencies that are critical to many emerging 5G use cases." Accenture estimates that 8.4 million households – that is, 43% of rural households – could be served by at least one 5G fixed wireless access provider in the near-term future. To obtain the benefits of fast 5G deployment, Accenture's report recommends more mid-band spectrum in the lower 3 GHz band be repurposed for commercial use. And it recommends additional streamlining of regulatory processes such as zoning for infrastructure permit approvals. Those are sound recommendations that Congress and the FCC ought to take seriously if they are truly serious about reaching underserved Americans.
For further insights on policy actions needed to expand broadband access to all Americans, see my Perspectives from FSF Scholars from February of this year titled "Fast Action on the Lower 3 GHz Band Will Secure Americas 5G Future." And also check out "Real Infrastructure Opportunity for Congress: Speed Deployment of 5G Network," a Perspectives that I co-authored by Free State Foundation President Randolph May.
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