\tThe prospect of nationalised 5G infrastructure in the US resurfaced as President Donald Trump\u2019s re-election campaign backed a proposal originally scrapped in 2018 following industry backlash.<\/p>\n
Politico reported the scheme would give the government control of 5G spectrum to create a wholesale market from which operators would buy capacity. A Trump campaign representative told Politico the plan would \u201cdrive down costs\u201d and help expand 5G access in rural and underserved areas.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s administration first floated the idea in January 2018 [1]\u00a0as part of a bid to more effectively compete against China in the race to 5G.<\/p>\n
However, the election campaign\u2019s resurrection of the issue put it at odds with administration officials in the White House, who had been quick to drop the original plan in favour of a free-market approach after fierce criticism [2] from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai and wireless industry players.<\/p>\n
In a follow up statement to\u00a0Politico, the campaign clarified \u201cthe White House sets the policy on 5G and all issues\u201d.<\/p>\n
Non-starter
\nLast month, Trump expressed renewed concern about 5G dominance, criticising US operators for “lagging” on next generation deployments and calling on them to “step up their efforts”.<\/p>\n
However, critics including Pai were quick to reiterate their opposition to the idea of network nationalisation as a tool to get ahead: on Twitter, Pai reposted a statement from January 2018 in which he argued \u201cthe market, not the government, is best-positioned to drive innovation and investment\u201d.<\/p>\n
FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr expressed similar sentiments on the social media site, with the latter deeming \u201cChina-like nationalisation\u201d of 5G networks \u201ca non-starter\u201d.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/home-banner\/us-considers-nationalising-5g-amid-china-threat\/
\n[2] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/home-banner\/fcc-chief-opposes-nationalised-5g-plan\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The prospect of nationalised 5G infrastructure in the US resurfaced as President Donald Trump’s re-election …<\/p>\n
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