Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
FCC to Hold Big 5G Auction, Spend $20B for Rural Internet
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 16, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government will hold a massive auction later this year to bolster 5G service, the next generation of mobile networks. President Donald Trump showcased the announcement Friday, declaring that the race to stand up these faster, more powerful networks is a competition “America must win.”

“We cannot allow any other country to outcompete the United States in this powerful industry of the future. We are leading by so much in so many different industries of that type, and we just can’t let that happen.” — President Donald Trump
“We cannot allow any other country to outcompete the United States in this powerful industry of the future,” Trump said at the White House. “We are leading by so much in so many different industries of that type, and we just can’t let that happen.”
Trump also announced a $20 billion plan to expand broadband access to rural areas currently without it, a decadelong extension of an existing program.
5G will mean faster wireless speeds and has implications for technologies like self-driving cars and augmented reality. Trump said it will transform the way people work, learn, communicate and travel, making farms more productive, manufacturers more competitive and health care better and more accessible. But experts say it’s hard to know now how much life will actually change because of the much-hyped network upgrade.
It will take years to roll out, and the highest data speeds and capacities may not reach rural areas at all.
The rollout started last week in the U.S. and South Korea but will take years.
The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it would hold the largest auction in U.S. history to boost wireless companies’ networks. The auction is set for Dec. 10, and will be the agency’s third for 5G, said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who joined Trump for the announcement.

The U.S. Is Jockeying for Position With China Over 5G

“We want Americans to be the first to benefit from this new digital revolution,” Pai said.
The U.S. is jockeying for position with China over 5G. It has effectively banned Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei from most U.S. networks due to concerns that it might enable Chinese government spying, which Huawei denies. The U.S. has pushed its allies to do the same, with mixed results. Huawei is the world’s largest maker of such equipment.

The agency spent $34.5 billion on rural-broadband network subsidy programs from 2010 to 2017, according to the Government Accountability Office.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, criticized the agency’s approach to 5G Friday. She said the U.S. has not auctioned off “midband” spectrum that is better suited to serve rural areas because of how far it can carry signals, and that the Trump administration’s actions on 5G have “set us back.” She cited tariffs on telecom equipment that have raised costs and said the administration has been “alienating allies” on the 5G security issue.
The FCC also said Friday that it will be renewing an existing $2 billion broadband subsidy program, for 10 years. It will provide about $20.4 billion over a decade to providers, with the goal of connecting up to 4 million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed internet.
The agency spent $34.5 billion on rural-broadband network subsidy programs from 2010 to 2017, according to the Government Accountability Office.
It’s more expensive for telecom companies to serve spread-out rural areas than cities and suburbs, so the government provides grants to encourage them to build internet networks in rural parts of the country. Some 24 million Americans lacked access to high-speed internet as of the end of 2016, by the FCC’s count.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

DON'T MISS

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

DON'T MISS

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

UP NEXT

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

UP NEXT

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

10 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

10 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

14 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

14 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

14 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

14 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

14 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

14 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

15 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

15 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Russia’s escalating bombardment of Ukraine had left him concerned that Russia did not want to end ...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

9 hours ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

9 hours ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

10 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

10 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

14 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

14 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

14 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend