Questions About China, Competition Overhang CTIA 5G Event

U.S. wireless companies are ready to spend $275 billion on 5G, Baker said. “What we need are rules, we don’t need money” through a federal infrastructure package, she said. “We just need [the government] to unleash us. We’ll spend our own money.”

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., a sponsor of the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act, S 1682, said it's critical that Congress passes that bill. Other countries don’t have to wait for something like a vote in Congress, he said.

The first step is getting a hearing on the bill and he’s trying to do that though there’s no commitment from leadership to hold one, Gardner told reporters. “It’s getting very late” this Congress, he said. “Any time you have a country like China that can move with the speed of light … it’s a concern,” he said. “They can get that juice of innovation flowing immediately and it takes us time. We should be cognizant of that.” The act frees up spectrum for years to come and that’s important given the lengthy process of freeing up spectrum, he said.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., the other lead sponsor of the Airwaves Act, said it will help avoid a spectrum crunch. The U.S. has to lead the world on 5G, she said. “We are all concerned about research that indicates China and South Korea” are leading the world on 5G readiness, she said. “We will close the gap and prepare our nation for the future.”

Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., a member of the Commerce Committee, said she grew up watching The Jetsons: “What we watched growing up is now a reality.” To attract young people, a city like Indianapolis needs technology and 5G, she said, otherwise, “we will lose the battle.” Brooks said the wireless industry needs to educate local officials on the importance of wireless facilities and small cells. “Indianapolis got it right away,” but it takes education, she said. As a new member of Congress who was never a local official, Brooks said that she had to be educated. “I didn’t even know what spectrum was,” she said. Broadcasters brought her up to speed, she said. Tax reform will help bring jobs to America, but technology is also critical, she said. “I will give the Trump administration credit,” she said: "They are trying to make it easier to do business in this country. They have tried to roll back those regulations and rules that are really getting in the way.” She also urged passage of the Airwaves Act.

NTIA Administrator David Redl said he welcomes the focus of the conference and CTIA’s recent reports on 5G. The entire federal government must work in a coordinated fashion to support industry, he said. “We need to have spectrum available across all portions, low-band, mid-band and high-band.” NTIA is working with federal and nonfederal users at 37 GHz, he said. “We’re optimistic that if we get this right, it will serve as model for how sharing can be done in other millimeter-wave bands.”

“Winning this race will mean more broadband for more Americans,” said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. “It will mean new opportunities for underserved communities and it will mean unleashing the next wave of innovation and entrepreneurship,” he said. "I am committed to seeing the U.S. win this.”

Niklas Heuveldop, Ericsson North America head, said big industrial players started coming to his company four years ago to talk about the eventual move to 5G. “What these companies are looking for is means to transform their businesses, means to take out costs, increase their operating efficiencies, improve the customer experience,” he said. The industrial IoT will be the biggest development as a result of 5G, he said.

Chinese carriers have advantages, Heuveldop said. The three largest carriers in China have access to 200 MHz of spectrum for 5G and 2 million cellsites, he said. China has one regulator to oversee zoning and permitting, he said. Heuveldop said he lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where wireless companies have to work with 70 municipalities.

Tim Baxter, CEO of Samsung Electronics North America, said he has been in meetings in Washington all week and the first topic of conversation at each was 5G. Smart cities, the connected car, and other new technologies haven’t really been a success without 5G, he said. Samsung has 5G trials underway with all the major carriers, Baxter said, “We’re excited,” he said. “We’re testing different things in different markets and learning.”

In tests in Frankfurt, Germany, Qualcomm had a fivefold increase in capacity with 23 times faster responsiveness using 5G compared with 4G, said CEO Cristiano Amon. Users had a 1.4 Gbps median browsing speed, he said. The first commercial 5G device is likely to be available by the end of the year, he said. Amon agreed with other speakers: “We need spectrum. We need to get the equipment in the ground, devices being built. We are not going to lose this 5G race.”

Sprint Chief Technology Officer John Saw said it takes about an hour to install a small cell, but sometimes years to get it permitted. “That has to change,” he said. Saw welcomes a draft FCC NPRM on the 2.5 GHz band (see 1804180068). He said it’s “certainly much needed.”