Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    FCC’s Wheeler Delivers 5G Pep Talk Ahead of Policy Intro

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    June 22, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      FCC talks on 5G 5G

      Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler gave a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., June 20, to create enthusiasm for upcoming 5G technologies and to cheerlead proposed rules for 5G that Wheeler will circulate to the commission—a group of five, firmly split down partisan lines—on June 23.

      “The interconnected world we live in today is the result of decisions we made a decade ago. The interconnected world of the future will be the result of decisions we must make today,” said Wheeler, noting that the proposal will be called Spectrum Frontiers and the FCC will vote on it July 14.

      Reaching a majority vote will be no easy feat, and Wheeler publically worked to rally both awe and patriotism, likening the nation’s upcoming embrace of 5G—which is “damn important,” as it will make U.S. companies “first out of the gate,” said Wheeler—to John F. Kennedy’s challenge to put an American on the moon.

      “Once again, we are looking to the sky to unlock new discoveries and unleash American ingenuity,” he said. “We are the pioneers of a new spectrum frontier. Working together, we can write the next chapter in the mobile revolution that has already transformed our lives and society.”

      Wheeler called the proposal the “final piece in the spectrum trifecta of low-band, mid-band and high-band airways that will open up unprecedented amounts of spectrum, speed the rollout of next-generation wireless networks, and redefine network connectivity for years to come.”

      Low-band spectrum is optimal for wide-area coverage applications, and the current incentive auction is making more of it available. Mid-band spectrum—the Jan Brady, (the middle daughter in the mid-20th century “The Brady Bunch” TV show) of the spectrum world, per Wheeler—has critical characteristics that will enable an “order of magnitude increase in spectrum efficiency.”

      And finally, high-band spectrum will open up enormous swaths of spectrum, for super-fast data rates with low latency. But while low band is great at penetrating buildings and making its way deep into apartments and offices, high band likes open spaces and is great at avoiding “obstacles” like office towers. That means new antennas will need to be developed to aim, reroute and amplify signals.

      “To make this work, 5G build-out is going to be very infrastructure-intensive, requiring a massive deployment of small cells. But [it] also opens up unprecedented opportunities for frequency reuse and denser, more localized, networks,” said Wheeler.

      What will 5G make possible? No one knows yet, and that’s the beauty of it, said Wheeler, proposing that innovation drive policy, and not the other way around. While other countries believe in studying what 5G should be, the United States wants to blaze a trail.

      “Turning innovators loose is far preferable to expecting committees and regulators to define the future. We won’t wait for the standards to be first developed in the sometimes arduous standards-setting process or in a government-led activity,” said Wheeler. “Instead, we will make ample spectrum available and then rely on private-sector-led process for producing technical standards best suited for those frequencies and use cases.”

      While Verizon and AT&T are planning 5G trials for 2017, collaboration, even more than competition, will be in order, particularly between satellite and terrestrial wireless shareholders, said Wheeler, noting that the Spectrum Frontiers Order includes a solution to address the needs of both parties.

      He added that the full benefits of 5G aren’t at all known yet and shouldn’t be underestimated.

      “The main value of 5G will not be found in workshare or intellectual property. The main value of 5G by far will be in consumption rather than production. It will be in material gains and improvements in quality of life and economic opportunity. … It is a contest in which everyone can win,” Wheeler said. “Our success and that of others, redounds to the benefit—literally—of everyone in the world.”

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×