White House, FCC unveil 5G push and $20B fund for rural broadband – CNET

The White House on Friday will unveil a new 5G push to position the US ahead of global rivals in the race to deploy the next-generation wireless technology.

President Donald Trump and Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai will announce new airwaves auctions and plans to spend $20.4 billion over 10 years on rural broadband.

The FCC will auction off three segments of millimeter-wave spectrum — which can offer insane data speeds but has limited range — for commercial use. The auction is scheduled for December, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on a conference call with reporters ahead of the White House event. He said the FCC plans to auction off 3,400 MHz of spectrum in three different high-frequency bands.

“This will be the largest spectrum auction in American history,” he said.

Pai went onto say that this auction, along with others planned for the future, are putting the US on a good path.

“The US is well-positioned to take a lead in 5G,” he said.

The FCC is also announcing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The agency plans to reallocate $20.4 billion from its Universal Service Fund over the next 10 years to subsidize eligible companies to build out broadband infrastructure in underserved areas. The money will be allocated to internet service providers that can provide a minimum of 25 gigabit per second downloads in areas that are currently in need of connectivity, Pai said.  

He added that the new infrastructure will also help bring 5G to these rural areas.

“There are a number of startups that are working on millimeter wave technology to bring 5G to rural America,” he said on the call.

The FCC already spends on average about $4 billion a year to subsidize rural broadband deployments, yet 19 million Americans, most of whom live in hard to reach places, still lack high speed internet access. This new injection of funding is expected to connect about 4 million more Americans to rural broadband, according to the FCC. 

The race to 5G

5G, which refers to the fifth generation of cellular technology, is the next big thing in wireless technology. It’s been hailed as the foundation for other big trends like self-driving cars and streaming virtual reality. The White House’s announcement comes as carriers like AT&T and Verizon have begun rolling out their 5G service in select cities. Sprint and T-Mobile are also expected to begin rollouts this year of their 5G service.  Other countries, like China, Korea and Japan are also racing to deploy 5G, creating a new kind of technological arms race.

The FCC has already taken steps to make more spectrum available to wireless carriers deploying the technology. In January, it concluded its first auction of high frequency millimeter spectrum in the 28GHz band.  The auction raised a total of more than $702 million in gross bids. A total of 2,965 28GHz licenses were won. It’s still auctioning off spectrum in the 24GHz band.

In addition to the spectrum auction announced Friday, Pai told reporters the agency is also working to free up so-called midband spectrum that’s also crucial for building out 5G networks.

“Rest assured that we are making a priority of [making available] all bands for 5G,” he said

The White House and 5G

5G has been on the mind of White House officials for some time. In October, the administration announced it was developing a plan to “position the United States to lead in next generation wireless networks for years to come.”

Under this plan, the Secretary of Commerce was tasked with working across agencies to ensure that there is sufficient spectrum to ferry wireless data. Getting more spectrum in the hands of carriers — particularly rural carriers — was seen as a critical component of the strategy.

But that wasn’t the first time President Trump had been linked to 5G. In January 2018, White House plans for a national 5G network leaked out. FCC officials and other experts largely dismissed the idea. Rumors of a nationalized wholesale 5G network bubbled up again last month as reported by Politico.

When asked about these rumors, Pai once again dismissed the notion of a wholesale 5G network built and operated by the US government. He said the “lesson from 4G” was that American leadership in wireless thrived because of the market-based approach to building and maintaining networks.

But in spite of the White House’s efforts to push for more spectrum for 5G and to align other policies to encourage 5G deployment, Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods and pressure on European allies to rip out and ban 5G equipment from Chinese equipment maker Huawei over security concerns have also threatened the speedy rollout of the technology, according to critics.

“So far, this administration’s interventions on 5G have done more harm than good,” Jessica Rosenworcel, one of two Democrats serving on the FCC, said in a statement. “From imposing tariffs on 5G equipment to alienating allies on 5G security to falling behind the rest of the world on critical mid-band spectrum, the White House has yet to offer a workable plan for US leadership.”

Originally published April 12, 5:41 a.m. PT.
Update 6:01 a.m. PT: Adds more details on White House’s 5G push; 7:05 a.m.: Adds information from conference with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai; 7:55 a.m.: Adds background on 5G, comments from  Pai and comments from Rosenworcel.