On Friday President Trump announced a plan to speed the rollout of 5G networks and increase rural broadband connectivity.
"Under the plan, the Federal Communications Commission will release a wide swath of high-frequency airwaves for cellular use in what will be the largest trove of U.S. wireless spectrum ever to be auctioned off. As much as 3.4 gigahertz of 'millimeter-wave' spectrum could be sold to wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon in the sale, which will begin Dec. 10, according to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai," Brian Fung reports for The Washington Post. "The FCC also proposed a $20 billion fund to expand broadband in rural America over the coming decade, connecting up to 4 million households and small businesses to high-speed Internet, Pai said. The 'Rural Digital Opportunity Fund' could launch later this year, after a period of public notice and comment."
However, Friday's announcement had another purpose beyond informing the public about the auction and the rural broadband program, Aaron Pressman reports for Fortune: "The real agenda was to try and kill a well-funded lobbying effort to convince the federal government to take over 5G airwaves and build a nationalized network that private carriers would have to lease from the government. Supporters included prominent Republicans Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, as well as Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale. But the idea has driven the U.S. telecommunications industry, which is spending tens of billions of dollars to build private 5G networks, bonkers."
At Friday's event, Trump said that "in the United States, our approach is private-sector driven and private-sector led Government doesn’t have to spend lots of money . . . We had another alternative of doing it that would be through government investment and leading through the government. We don’t want to do that because it won’t be nearly as good, nearly as fast."
"Under the plan, the Federal Communications Commission will release a wide swath of high-frequency airwaves for cellular use in what will be the largest trove of U.S. wireless spectrum ever to be auctioned off. As much as 3.4 gigahertz of 'millimeter-wave' spectrum could be sold to wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon in the sale, which will begin Dec. 10, according to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai," Brian Fung reports for The Washington Post. "The FCC also proposed a $20 billion fund to expand broadband in rural America over the coming decade, connecting up to 4 million households and small businesses to high-speed Internet, Pai said. The 'Rural Digital Opportunity Fund' could launch later this year, after a period of public notice and comment."
However, Friday's announcement had another purpose beyond informing the public about the auction and the rural broadband program, Aaron Pressman reports for Fortune: "The real agenda was to try and kill a well-funded lobbying effort to convince the federal government to take over 5G airwaves and build a nationalized network that private carriers would have to lease from the government. Supporters included prominent Republicans Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, as well as Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale. But the idea has driven the U.S. telecommunications industry, which is spending tens of billions of dollars to build private 5G networks, bonkers."
At Friday's event, Trump said that "in the United States, our approach is private-sector driven and private-sector led Government doesn’t have to spend lots of money . . . We had another alternative of doing it that would be through government investment and leading through the government. We don’t want to do that because it won’t be nearly as good, nearly as fast."
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