Presidential announcement ignores core question: What is leadership in 5G?

Recently, President Donald Trump and Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai held a news conference to announce “two new steps” that together would position the United States as a leader in deploying 5G wireless networks. There were three distinct problems with the announcement: the steps were not new, they did not advance critical 5G deployments, and they did nothing to help American leadership in driving and benefiting from the next big transition in wireless communications.

The two steps announced by President Trump and Chairman Pai reflect programming already underway. The first step, spectrum auctions, consists of the government repurposing and selling spectrum. However, these specific auctions are nothing new. Meanwhile, the second step that the FCC Chairman announced—to distribute $2 billion a year over ten years— does not actually create any new revenues. Instead, it simply renames a portion of the $4.8 billion a year the FCC already distributes for the same purpose. Officials in Washington keep giving mountains of aspirational statements—but actual federal analysis or strategy remains absent from the conversation.

The first step, which Trump and Pai have ignored, is to clarify the key metrics for what will determine international 5G leadership. You cannot lead if you don’t know where you are going.