What is the 5G Fund for Rural America?

On October 27, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote to create the 5G Fund for Rural America, a new program supported by the Universal Service Fund. The 5G Fund will replace the FCC's existing Mobility Fund which has been used to support deployment of 4G LTE networks in rural, insular, and high cost areas of the country. The FCC will distribute up to $9 billion in universal service support to bring mobile voice and 5G broadband service to rural areas of the country. The deployment of networks capable of providing this 5G service undoubtedly will be expensive. Most providers are still in the early stages of deploying 5G networks, focusing mainly on urban areas; the 5G Fund aims to ensure deployment reaches sparsely-populated areas that may not offer obvious economic incentives for private investment. Here's a brief look at the proposal FCC commissioners will consider this month.