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The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

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White House memo to create national 5G network published

A White House memo suggesting the creation of a nationalized 5G network was leaked around Jan 28. The memo was created by White House officials at the National Security Council. The memo claims the U.S.government needs to create a nationalized 5G network to combat cybersecurity threats. It suggests that the U.S.government would build a 5G mobile network and rent out access to carriers like T-Mobile or Sprint.

Such measures will most likely not occur. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), companies represented by CTIA such as Verizon, Apple, and Sprint, Senator Mark Warner (D) and Representative Greg Walden (R) all oppose the memo’s proposals. Some White House officials support the proposals in the memo.

“It is contrary to current laws where the government and private business do not compete and I don’t see how they would get around that,” said Edward Deadmon, a CTE teacher at Athens.

5G refers to the fifth generation of wireless technology. It is the newest mobile wireless standard. It is projected to be faster, have less latency and be able to connect to many more devices than current 4G mobile networks.

5G uses a networks of small and closely clustered cells to transmit information. This is projected to increase download speeds and allow running complex mobile internet application. Having many cells is one of the ways a 5G network would be fast and connect many devices. This same quality of having many cells would make 5G more expensive than previous technologies. One estimate on Bloomberg puts the cost of upgrading to 5G around $200 Billion per year. Having many cells is expensive in part because each cell has to be connected to the internet.

“Who pays? I think taxpayers would be unwilling to pay to build, and maintain, and connect such a network,” said Deadmon.

Another way 5G is projected to increase speeds is to use very high frequencies. This increases speeds, but also plays into the need for many cells because high frequency signals do not travel very far.

“There are many technical challenges. The government would have to lay enough fiber for backhaul back to the internet. The internet company dug up my neighborhood installing fiber and it took them weeks and weeks to do it. Imagine how long it would take to lay fiber at a nationwide scale,” said Deadmon.

AT&T plans to launch a 5G network at the end of the year, while Verizon will offer a 5G home service starting in mid 2018. T-Mobile will offer 5G starting in 2019, transitioning to a nationwide 5G service in 2020. Sprint intends to launch 5G service in late 2019. The memo leaked from the white house argues that the government needs to centralize a 5G network by Jan. 20, 2021. How this would be accomplished is unclear.

“Who would build the network? And who would be maintaining it?…If it was connected to private networks, they would have to pay to use the companies’ networks,” said Deadmon.

The FCC argues against the proposal on the grounds that private businesses are in a better position to create a 5G network than the government is. It would certainly change the role of government in the industry. According to the proposal, being anonymous on this new 5G network would not be allowed. It is justified as making the proposed 5G network a better defensive tool.

“The government would have more control in this industry…It can be good to feel more protected because the government can monitor more, but then it can be bad if people feel that this is an invasion of privacy,” said Shavonne Hairston, a Civics and Economics professor at Athens Drive High School.

The proposal could improve the national economy and help U.S.manufacturers.

“The national economy will probably grow from the revenue created with this proposal, but this would cause the government to be able to set prices and have more control over the industry. That could have adverse effects for consumers if the prices drastically increase,” said Hairston.

However, the proposal could negatively affect mobile and other companies.

“The businesses would be under more government regulation, which can ultimately hurt the businesses in the long run. More government regulation can hurt competition,” said Hairston.

Whether the proposal will be implemented remains to be seen. It seems unlikely.

“Other priorities are more important, such as roads and sewers. Roads, they affect me. 5G doesn’t affect me, and other things are more important. If I’m starving, don’t give me candy. It doesn’t make sense,” said Deadmon.

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