Trump’s 5G Plan Is More Than a Gift to His Base

The Trump re-election campaign’s wireless open access proposal was a poorly vetted scheme possibly intended to score political points. It was squelched almost immediately after it became public, as shocked White House staff members complained that it contradicted the administration’s support for competing wireless networks. The twist? Open access wireless is actually a terrific idea. Some forward-thinking Democrats and public interest advocates have been pushing it for decades. Why would the Trump campaign endorse open access? Rivada Networks, a politically connected firm that counts Peter Thiel, a prominent Trump donor, among its investors, appears to be positioning itself for the lucrative contract to provide the technology for such a system. Mr. Trump’s political advisers see the open access plan as a way to improve wireless service in rural areas, a gift to the president’s base. These motivations should not obscure the value of open access. The communications industry has already shown that a competitive open market sometimes can’t develop without government action. Tech-savvy Democrats should welcome the embrace of their open access vision. Even if it means being more supportive of a Trump campaign position than the White House.

[Werbach, a professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, served as an adviser on telecommunication policy in the Clinton and Obama administrations]