Spectrum, Collaboration Important to 5G, NTIA Told; FCC's Carr Sees US Gains
CTA, CTIA and other industry groups urged reallocating more spectrum for 5G across the radio spectrum and cutting red tape, and stressed the importance of a collaborative process on security, responding to NTIA’s “Request for Comments on the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy to Secure 5G.” Others said the federal government isn’t doing enough about security. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said on a podcast Wednesday the tide is turning worldwide against the Chinese companies that have been the focus of security concerns.
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“The U.S. was out front early” on the danger from Huawei and other Chinese companies, Carr said on a 5G Action Now podcast. “A lot of people were skeptical,” he said. “That skepticism is starting to turn” and other countries are “increasingly limiting their exposure to Huawei gear and looking for other options,” he said. “We think that’s really a good thing.”
People are losing faith in the “trustworthiness” of Chinese companies after COVID-19, Carr said. The problem is that network equipment is tailored to an individual deployment, Carr said: It’s “very difficult to put a regime in place that can verify and check a piece of equipment and let it go out there en masse.” U.S. companies have an advantage on software, which makes software-based networks more important, he said. Huawei and the Chinese Embassy didn’t comment.
Carr said the U.S. is keeping up on making spectrum available for 5G, another topic of many of the comments to NTIA. “There’s been actually really significant action on mid-band generally at this FCC,” he said: “Some of the politics out there wouldn’t you lead you to that conclusion.” He highlighted the 2.5 GHz band, the subject of a future FCC auction, now being deployed by T-Mobile after its buy of Sprint.
An NTIA official said Tuesday the agency is analyzing responses, pleased that 80-some commenters weighed in (see 2006300078). Several groups declined comment Wednesday, saying they're still reading the filings.
“Secure 5G deployment will only succeed with sustained effort and input from all stakeholders,” said John Miller, Information Technology Industry Council senior vice president-policy, in an interview. “Based on the significant response to NTIA’s request … it’s clear that the tech industry broadly values increased access to spectrum to facilitate 5G implementation and continued public-private collaboration on supply chain security.”
“There’s a consensus that America is strongly positioned to lead in 5G, once we level the playing field when it comes to mid-band spectrum,” emailed CTIA General Counsel Tom Power: “With two key FCC auctions scheduled for this year, the lower 3 GHz band can make the difference.”
NTIA Comments
Government can “lay the groundwork for innovation beyond 5G by continuing to make more spectrum available, reducing unnecessary government barriers, remaining technology-neutral, and supporting and promoting -- but not itself running -- standards-setting and other voluntary and multistakeholder efforts,” CTA said in docket 200521-0144. Don’t impose new restrictions on “(i) commercially available off-the-shelf consumer items; (ii) technical research and testing for standards and specification development, adoption, and conformance; or (iii) products that are already subject to national security oversight,” CTA said. Supply chain rules should be “closely coordinated to ensure they are not in conflict or duplicative,” the group said.
“Double down to make more spectrum available for exclusive licensed, commercial use” and “streamline infrastructure deployment policies,” CTIA said. Security needs to be “dynamic since security challenges and threats evolve over time,” it said, and government should collaborate with industry. “Security is not static, making prescriptive mandates ill-advised,” CTIA warned: “Flexibility is critical to meeting the challenge of protecting our networks and consumers.”
New York is “highly concerned about the threats created by a lack of coherent national vision and strategy for securing our nation’s telecommunications infrastructure,” the city said: “Lack of federal leadership domestically and in coordination with allies internationally makes our city vulnerable to foreign adversaries.” 5G deployment in the U.S. “will almost certainly” require significant use of foreign technology, particularly from China, the city said: “This creates a significant supply chain risk.”
Nokia said many are concerned the U.S. isn’t keeping up with China on R&D spending. “While this concern is not valid across the board -- indeed there are many areas of the technology portfolio where trusted equipment suppliers are ahead of the Chinese in quality and capability -- there are nevertheless actions that the U.S. Government could take,” Nokia said. It wants a fund for “trusted suppliers to accelerate R&D roadmaps on critical 5G features, shorten any perceived gap in availability of functionality, and provide the U.S. with a comparative advantage” including in dynamic spectrum sharing and secure network slicing.
A federal 5G strategy “must include meaningful steps toward eliminating barriers to deploying the fiber that will be essential to supporting 5G networks,” USTelecom said. “Recognize that the future of secure 5G connectivity will require public-private collaboration on security measures, a supply chain consisting of trusted and allied suppliers, and a diverse and global vendor base -- all of which the U.S. government is in a position to promote,” the group said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said government should support R&D and a fair process for standard-setting bodies, ensure “strong intellectual property rights for innovators” and speed “deployment of all technologies that will support the 5G ecosystem.” Avoid “policies that create artificial impediments to a vibrant marketplace merely for the sake of increasing domestic manufacturing capability,” the Chamber said. It emphasized the importance of spectrum and making 5G facilities easier to site and build.
Efforts to secure the supply chain should be “industry-driven,” the Telecommunications Industry Association said. "Address security concerns with a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to ensure consistency among the numerous government and public-private initiatives focused on supply chain security that are currently underway,” the group said: “Individual actions cannot succeed in securing the supply chain if they operate in a vacuum.”
Wi-Fi and 5G will work together “to deliver high throughput connectivity,” NCTA said. “That objective requires a policy framework that is both technology- and business model-neutral."