US in Race to Lead World on 5G, Victory Isn't Certain, NTIA Chief Says

The White House has a 5G meeting scheduled for Friday (see 1809210052). “We’re hoping to see a comprehensive spectrum strategy come out of this process and I’m sure when the White House is ready to make an announcement, they will do so,” Redl said, cautioning against drawing any conclusions before the strategy is released. “There’s a lot of good work that has been done by both Republican and Democratic administrations to get us where we are.”

The administration is studying the data on how to help the private sector lead on 5G, Redl said. “We’re the undisputed leader on 4G,” Redl said. “Now, we’re trying to leverage investments that were made by this county, by our private sector.” Benefits of 5G are difficult to predict as were those of 4G, he said.

While “our Chinese counterparts are formidable adversaries, we feel pretty good about the way the American economy is driving forward,” said Redl, who was asked about administration curbs on the use of Chinese equipment and devices in U.S. networks, the subject of an FCC inquiry (see 1804180053). “For us, it’s a question of economic security,” Redl said. “When we look at these questions we have to ask ourselves, ‘Do we balance the need for lower cost equipment with the potential threats to the United States,’” he said. Use of Chinese equipment can reduce the price of service in the U.S., “but at what cost?” Redl asked.

China and the U.S. could end up with different standards for 5G, but Redl said he doesn’t see that as a big problem, since the U.S. used to have two separate types of wireless networks -- based on CDMA and GSM. “It was good to see those new technologies compete because each … drove the other one to be more efficient, drove the other one to be faster,” he said. “Having two standards compete isn’t the best thing for economies of scale, but sometimes it can produce some really amazing results.”

Spectrum Pipeline

Redl is pleased with the amount of spectrum being made available for 5G here. “We’re doing really well,” he said. “The U.S. is in general in front of the rest of the world when it comes to making allocations.” The country has a “pretty good pipeline in place,” he said.

NTIA is still asking what exactly bidirectional sharing means, Redl said. Is it industry using federal spectrum when it's vacant or government users on commercial spectrum? he asked. “We’re looking right now at what those concepts mean and how they could even be operationalized.” The agency is watching closely to see how a new generation of sharing works in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, he said: “The viability” of the new sharing systems “could bear heavily on the way we go forward.”

There has been “pushback” from industry and government agencies on bidirectional sharing, Redl said. “The era of easy spectrum decisions is probably over,” he said. There's a continuing demand for more spectrum by industry and the government, he said: “We’re going to have to take hard looks and make hard decisions.”

FirstNet got a workout during Hurricane Florence and first responders on the network said it was reliable, Redl said. “We’re really excited about what’s going on."

Questions remain. “It’s early going,” Redl said. “FirstNet is really getting out there and trying to promote themselves as public safety’s No. 1 network for priority and pre-emption.” NTIA is watching how AT&T does in signing up subscribers, he said: “We're encouraged by what we’ve seen so far.” Redl welcomes challenges to FirstNet from Verizon and others, “I don’t see as a threat at all,” he said. “It’s exactly what we were hoping to see. … AT&T and Verizon competing vigorously in the market … only helps first responders get exactly what they need at the best possible price.”

Privacy

NTIA asked for comments Tuesday on a "new approach to privacy." “The Request for Comments is part of a transparent process to modernize U.S. data privacy policy for the 21st century,” NTIA said. “In parallel efforts, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is developing a voluntary privacy framework to help organizations manage risk; and the International Trade Administration is working to increase global regulatory harmony.”

“We’re hoping to hear detailed feedback from a broad range of individuals and organizations,” Redl said on a call with reporters. “Our next steps will be determined by what we hear from the commenters and we’re hoping that we get a broad range of comments. … We’re truly looking for guidance from all different quarters.”

Privacy is “an evolving concept,” Redl said on C-SPAN. “Data continues to play a larger and larger role in our life.” The administration wants to do its part as Congress looks at legislation, he said. The Senate Commerce Committee plans a privacy hearing Wednesday (see 1809250049).

“Our members understand the success of any digital business depends on consumer trust,” said USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter. “Several members of Congress have also introduced -- or plan to introduce -- privacy legislation. Taken together, we hope these initiatives will lay the groundwork for a single, national framework with strong consumer protections and flexibility for a competitive and innovative marketplace.”

“Americans deserve -- and internet companies support -- a modern approach to privacy regulation that meets consumer demands and provides a clear and consistent framework from coast to coast,” said Internet Association President Michael Beckerman. “We appreciate NTIA’s leadership in proposing privacy principles to inform the legislative debate that will enable innovation to continue to flourish, and look forward to engaging,” said Melanie Tiano, CTIA director-cybersecurity and privacy. Software & Information Industry Association Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy urged privacy protection improvements, “while still allowing for innovative data uses.”