Be Wary of Calls to Legislate to Help US Win '5G Race,' PK's Feld to Testify
“Look at the ‘5G race’ and predictions of doom with a jaundiced eye,” Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld plans to tell the Senate Commerce Committee during a Wednesday hearing on 5G workforce and deployment issues (see 2001160050). Feld…
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is a late addition to the witness roster for the Senate Commerce hearing, as is NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jimmy Miller and Fiber Broadband Association CEO Lisa Youngers will also testify. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 216 Hart. “Globally, the demand for new mobile services is driving rapid deployment of 5G without the need for Congress or the FCC to alter the balanced policies that have served us so well over the last three decades,” Feld says. “While framing deployment of 5G as a ‘race’ with other nations is a potentially useful metaphor to emphasize the importance of 5G as an area of policy, we should not confuse this with a literal race to see who can deploy the greatest coverage most quickly.” Congress “resisted the urging of wireless networks to radically preempt states or to eliminate allocations for unlicensed spectrum” when it adopted “new innovations such as incentive auctions,” Feld said. Lawmakers “must take necessary steps to ensure the timely deployment of 5G to all Americans. But these steps should reflect the policy of careful balance that has served us so successfully for the last three decades. By ignoring the hype and fear-mongering, Congress can address the genuine obstacles to 5G deployment.”