Nationalizing 5G Would Be an Unforced Error

Stick with what made the U.S. the world leader in 4G 

Letter to WSJ.

"In “China’s 5G Soars Over America’s” (op-ed, Feb. 17), Graham Allison and Eric Schmidt call for the Biden administration to build a “national highway system” for 5G wireless networks. This is consistent with Mr. Schmidt’s previous calls for a nationwide wireless wholesale network managed by the federal government and anointed government contractors. A similar idea was also proposed by some Trump administration officials before it was criticized on a bipartisan basis and buried. Does this op-ed foretell a new push toward a nationalized 5G regime?

Instead of relying on a government-run wireless operator, let’s stick with what made the U.S. the world leader in 4G: the entrepreneurial brilliance of the private sector investing risk capital. The authors omit that the U.S. wireless industry will have invested almost $300 billion in 5G infrastructure when all is said and done. But if they are looking for taxpayer dollars, last year’s infrastructure legislation will contribute $62 billion more on broadband, on top of the Federal Communications Commission’s $9 billion annual outlays in direct and indirect broadband support.

Messrs. Schmidt and Allison also omit that the same report they cite reveals that the U.S. has the highest 5G availability, at 49.2% and growing, while China has only 20.1%, and that our urban 5G download speeds are toe-to-toe with China’s.

The government could spur 5G deployment by scheduling more spectrum auctions and reloading the spectrum “pipeline.” But having the government own the means of wireless production would be a poor choice. A healthy dose of competitive paranoia is needed to excel in the global marketplace, but exaggerating to create a crisis to justify a nationalized wireless regime would undermine the authors’ ostensible goal of having the U.S. lead the world in 5G, and eventually 6G.

Robert M. McDowell

Hudson Institute

Vienna, Va.

Mr. McDowell was an FCC commissioner (2006-13)."