Next Generation Connectivity: Postal Service Roles in 5G and Broadband Deployment

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted research to determine whether there are roles the Postal Service can play to support 5G and broadband deployment, particularly to unserved and underserved areas. The OIG concluded that there may be an opportunity to leverage the Postal Service’s network of over 31,000 facilities nationwide. 5G will require a wide distribution of antennas, fiber optic cable, and other communications infrastructure. As such, there may be opportunities for the Postal Service to work with industry partners in identifying facilities where antennas could be located and sites that could be utilized for fiber optic cable connection points. The Postal Service could work with partners to explore leasing indoor space for edge computing, bringing cloud computing resources closer to end users to speed up data transmission and processing. Postal facilities can be a digital hub for Wi-Fi access, supporting public safety communications networks, and helping promote broadband-related government services. Lastly, the Postal Service can contribute to national broadband deployment efforts by assisting in collecting data on wireless broadband service.