Who Gets 5G — And Who Gets Left Behind — Has Some Worried About Digital Inequality

What gets left out of the conversation about 5G is that the service will likely be rolled out the same way as in technologies past — predominantly in wealthier areas. 5G will bring the next generation of wireless technology to cities across Texas, but advocates argue it will bring the fifth generation of digital inequality to low-income and rural areas. "I don't know how any of us can think that 5G will be different, that the ISPs will make different decisions than they did with previous technologies," said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for connecting low-income and disconnected communities. "We know that AT&T digitally redlined. We know they skipped low-income neighborhoods when they were rolling out their faster DSL because of the data they gave to the FCC," Siefer said. (Unlike in banking, digital redlining — or not investing in low-income and minority communities — is not illegal.) 5G won't close the digital divide, Siefer said. In fact, because it will speed the obsolescence of technology low-income people can afford, it will likely make it worse.