WASHINGTON � On July 14, the Federal Communications Commission voted to set aside high-band spectrum for 5G service, making the United States �the first nation in the world to take that kind of a step into the future,� according to remarks made by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler the following day at the Office of Science and Technology/National Science Foundation Advanced Wireless Initiative launch event.�
Wheeler gave a speech, some of which I�m including below.�
�If you�re in this room, you already know that U.S. leadership in 5G is a national priority,� Wheeler began.��High-speed, high-capacity, low-latency wireless networks will define our future….�my colleagues talked about how we don�t know exactly what 5G will become.
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�The ability to connect the vast processing power in the cloud with a thin client at high speeds and low latency is going to change the activities at both ends. What this means for the Internet of Things � what this means for rural connectivity is all quite promising.
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�But I have no doubt that what 5G becomes will go beyond what we can imagine today. And it will be affected by the very kinds of activities that the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative makes possible.�
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Led by the National Science Foundation with participation from other organizations, tech companies and carriers, the AWRI will receive $400 million from the government over the next seven years to develop and test new wireless networking technology in four �city-scale� testing platforms, according totechcrunch.com.�
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�Now making spectrum available, getting out of the way of technology, and maintaining competition is not a new approach. It�s the same approach that we took to 4G,� Wheeler continued.
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�Because we made spectrum available early, we were the first nation to deploy 4G networks at scale. Because we led in networks, we led in users. And because we led in users, developers focused on our market. Today, 91 percent of the world�s mobile app downloads are from U.S. businesses. The result has been a mobile app economy that created 1.6 million new jobs.
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�That�s not to suggest 5G is an international zero-sum game. The tides of 5G will lift all boats, and create opportunities for individuals all across the world.�
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There�s more to this speech, should you care to read it, availablehere in its entirety. ��
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