O'Rielly Says 5G Race Key to Next 20 Years as Fifth-Gen Sees Much Talk at FCBA Retreat
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said the U.S. is in a 5G race against rivals, some of which have government-run "industrial policy." The U.S. faces challenges from other nations "racing ahead" to try to take the lead in deploying next-generation networks and services that "will decide" wireless communications for the next 20-25 years, he said, responding to a skeptical question Saturday at an FCBA retreat where he appeared with Commissioner Brendan Carr.
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Venable's Phil Verveer later disputed there's a global 5G race. He and other panelists debated FCC and Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee infrastructure efforts. They agreed state actions to promote net neutrality through government contractor procurement policies have a better chance in court than general state net neutrality measures, and some also said regulators ultimately have to tap broadband to fund USF.
Moderator Scott Harris of Harris Wiltshire questioned previous O'Rielly comments about a 5G race and the need to resist foreign industrial policies (see 1804190045). O'Rielly responded that competitors, aware of U.S. leadership on 4G, are attempting to use standard-setting bodies, international spectrum allocations and equipment manufacturing to get an edge and reap broad economic benefits from next-gen leadership. The U.S. is focused on channeling market forces and removing barriers to encourage private 5G deployment, and must ensure other countries don't use industrial policy to thwart American companies, he said. Verveer said there isn't a 5G race, and he expects new wireless networks and services to emerge over time.
Spectrum and infrastructure are big keys to 5G, with a skilled workforce also important, said Carr, who believes large companies can "self-provision" skills, but smaller ones can't. The FCC has no direct role, but it can highlight job training, he said, noting roundtable discussions he attended.
Fifth-generation service "is coming sooner than people thought" five years ago, when it was expected in 2021-2022, said John Godfrey, Samsung senior vice president on a panel Friday. Fixed 5G services are coming this year and mobile service in 2019-2020, he said. Verizon announced fixed service for Sacramento and plans to deploy in four to give more cities this year, with mobile service targeted to begin in 2019, said Vice President Melissa Tye. Godfrey and Wiley Rein attorney Anna Gomez said 5G promises higher speeds and capacity and lower latency. Asked about upcoming FCC 28 GHz and 24 GHz auctions, Godfrey said, "It's all about capacity," noting 800 MHz is being made available in the 28 GHz band. The two bands "are going to be the workhorse of 5G for carrying heavy loads," he said.
Tye said Verizon is focused on securing more spectrum in the 2.5-6 GHz midband, "the sweet spot" of good propagation and bandwidth. Gomez said densified small-cell networks need local actions on zoning, permits and rights of way. Godfrey praised FCC streamlining of environmental and historical reviews for small-cell base stations, and said, "there's still a lot more to be done to speed up the approval process," but he suggested cities don't have to wait for the FCC to tell them what to do. Gomez said the agency tried to have broad stakeholder representation on its Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, but it's difficult because localities are feeling under attack.
Audience member Best Best attorney Gerry Lederer asked when the FCBA will invite local governments to participate in the conversation, saying he was disappointed in his organization. Moderator Megan Stull, a Google counsel, said FCBA was open to local government participation and wants to work with localities.
Asked about the IoT, Godfrey said it will be the internet's connection to the physical world, which started on mainframes and then moved to personal computers and mobile devices: "It will be available everywhere on everything." The IoT needs ubiquitous, highly dense networks to connect things, which 5G will help provide, he said, calling it a "rocket fuel" for all sorts of services and applications that "you can't imagine." Panelists agreed privacy and cybersecurity will be major challenges in a 5G, IoT world.
Speaking later at FCBA, O'Rielly said he wants broadcasters to have flexibility to use the ATSC 3.0 TV standard to experiment with new emergency alerts, weather reports, targeted advertising and other innovations.
Verizon, meanwhile, doesn't really care about T-Mobile buying Sprint, said Tye Friday. After hearing Sprint and T-Mobile disparage Verizon's 5G capabilities, she said she queried Verizon's business people, who disputed their rivals' claims as "bluffing."