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 Public Sector: White House

U.S. government interest in 5G has been ramping up over the last decade. In 2016, the White House launched a $400 million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative to promote wireless testing platforms, while the FCC passed its “Spectrum Frontiers” policy in which the United States committed to releasing large quantities of mmWave spectrum for both licensed and unlicensed use. Interest in 5G has increased under the current administration, which has offered up a series of initiatives and directives emphasizing the importance of 5G and to develop a clear roadmap. The current administration supports a private sector-led 5G effort, rather than a government-led nationalized 5G plan.

In September 2018, the White House hosted a 5G Summit, during which industry and government leaders convened to discuss the future direction of 5G, promoting private-public sector collaboration while conceding that the United States had fallen behind in developing and fielding 5G. Shortly after, the White House released the “Presidential Memorandum on Developing a Sustainable Spectrum Strategy for America’s Future,” highlighting the need for the United States to lead 5G to promote national security and innovation across the public and private sectors. The memo directed departments and agencies to submit a number of reports on current spectrum usage and future requirements, spectrum reallocation options, and the impact of future technologies on spectrum allocation, and also called for 5G legislative, regulatory, and policy recommendations. On the same day as the Presidential memo, the White House released an article titled “America Will Win the Global Race to 5G”, looking at U.S. advantages gained from leading 4G (e.g., increased GDP and job opportunities) and comparing them to the potential benefits of leading 5G.

Public Sector: FCC

The FCC plays a large role in the development and fielding of 5G with regard to spectrum allocation and policy for civil-use spectrum. In late 2018, the FCC held a vote to establish a framework for freeing up mmWave spectrum bandwidth to help expedite 5G development and deployment. The FCC controls U.S. spectrum auctions and held its first 5G spectrum auction in late 2018, which opened up the 28 GHz band. A second auction, held on March 14, 2019, made available the 24 GHz band. DIB 5G Study