Conservative Groups Urge Faster 5G Rollout to Beat China

Several conservative groups including FreedomWorks, R Street, and the Lincoln Network have sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, urging a faster rollout of 5G technologies in the United States to beat China. According to the letter, if America doesn’t step up the race to 5G, it will fail to compete with China, “a potentially devastating but avoidable outcome.”

5G is the next generation of wireless technology for cellular devices. Connections speeds for 5G networks will reportedly range from double to a hundred times as fast as current 4G networks, transferring data at speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second.

Notorious Chinese company Huawei is making a major effort to install itself as the provider of 5G infrastructure around the world. The country has already unveiled a domestic 5G network, and is pushing into foreign markets. Eighty-four percent of Americans believe it is crucial for the U.S. to win the 5G race against China.

In their letter to the FCC chairman, conservative groups express similar concerns about the steady advance of China’s 5G program.

We believe that auctioning the C-band spectrum is the most pressing issue facing the FCC today, and one that is critical to America’s 5G future. It should be the Commission’s top priority for the February Open Meeting.

Enabling rapid, widespread deployment of 5G wireless in urban and rural areas is critical to maintain America’s economic well-being, national defense, and global competitiveness. We do not underestimate the stakes; China continues to advance on 5G and could surpass the U.S. in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, quantum computing, and robotics. The C-band is where 5G innovation in these technologies will happen, and if the U.S. does not provision this spectrum as quickly as possible in 2020, it will lose the opportunity to compete with China – a potentially devastating but avoidable outcome.

The letter can be read in full here.