“Trump national security officials are considering an unprecedented federal takeover of a portion of the nation’s mobile network to guard against China, according to sensitive documents obtained by Axios,” Jonathan Swan, David McCabe, Ina Fried, and Kim Hart report for Axios.
“We’ve got our hands on a PowerPoint deck and a memo — both produced by a senior National Security Council official — which were presented recently to senior officials at other agencies in the Trump administration,” Swan, McCabe, Fried, and Hart report. “The documents say America needs a centralized nationwide 5G network within three years. There’ll be a fierce debate inside the Trump administration — and an outcry from the industry — over the next 6-8 months over how such a network is built and paid for.”
“Two options laid out by the documents: 1. The U.S. government pays for and builds the single network — which would be an unprecedented nationalization of a historically private infrastructure,” Swan, McCabe, Fried, and Hart report. “An alternative plan where wireless providers build their own 5G networks that compete with one another — though the document says the downside is it could take longer and cost more. It argues that one of the ‘pros’ of that plan is that it would cause ‘less commercial disruption’ to the wireless industry than the government building a network… The proposal to nationalize a 5G network also only covers one part of the airwaves; there’d be other spaces where private companies could build.”
Read more in the full article here.
“The Federal Communications Commission’s Republican chairman on Monday opposed a plan under consideration by the Trump White House to build a 5G mobile network, nationalizing what has long been the role of private wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon,” David McCabe reports for Axios. “The FCC’s reaction doesn’t bode well for the proposal the Trump administration is considering, first reported by Axios on Sunday night, since it’s one of the main government agencies when it comes to wireless issues.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nationalized 5G. All the efficiency and speed of the DMV.
Proposals and presentations get made for everything under the sun. They’re not even remotely the same as actually doing what’s presented in a slide deck.
The statement from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, with whom we agree:
I oppose any proposal for the federal government to build and operate a nationwide 5G network. The market, not the government, is best positioned to drive innovation and investment.
I oppose any proposal for the federal government to build and operate a nationwide 5G network. The market, not the government, is best positioned to drive innovation and investment. https://t.co/viIDB4mb0f pic.twitter.com/hgxRLtwoU4
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) January 29, 2018
SEE ALSO:
Intel working with Apple to bring super-fast 5G to future iPhones – November 17, 2017
U.S. FCC Chairman moves to open 5G floodgates – June 20, 2016