Unleashing Next-Generation Networks

Topping July’s meeting agenda will be our Spectrum Frontiers Report and Order and FNPRM, which will accelerate the development and deployment of the next generation of wireless connectivity, a fifth generation – or 5G. As I outlined in recent remarks at the National Press Club, 5G connectivity will likely be more than an incremental evolutionary step forward in wireless technology. It promises quantum leaps forward in three key areas: speeds resembling fiber that are at least 10 times and maybe 100-times faster than today’s 4G LTE networks; responsiveness less than one-thousandth of a second, which enables real-time communication; and network capacity multiples of what is available today. Coupling this ultra-fast, low-latency, high-capacity connectivity with the almost unlimited processing power of the cloud will enable autonomous vehicles, smart-city energy grids and water systems, immersive education and entertainment, and, most important, killer applications yet to be imagined.

The interconnected world of the future will be the result of decisions we must make today. That is why 5G is a national priority, and why I am circulating to my colleagues proposed new rules that will identify and open up vast amounts of spectrum for 5G applications. If the Commission approves the Spectrum Frontiers item, the United States will be the first country in the world to open up high-band spectrum for 5G networks and applications. That’s a big deal because it means U.S. companies will be first out of the gate.