Wireless Excellence Through American Digital Infrastructure Prowess
America’s Digital infrastructure requires a significant overhaul, encompassing not only physical structures but also the digital infrastructure crucial for supporting commerce, defense, transportation, and public safety. This digital framework is essential for maintaining our innovative capabilities—our capacity to create, adjust, and embrace new technologies—which plays a vital role in ensuring competitiveness and national security in the 21st century.
This country has blazed the route in the digital era with several ground-breaking developments in cellular technology. Text capabilities were introduced with 2G, mobile broadband and BlackBerry with 3G, and mobile video and app shops with 4G. But as things change in the world of technology, we are now falling behind when it comes to 5G. Our 5G speeds are less than half of those in nations like Malaysia or Bulgaria, and the percentage of 5G base stations per person in our country is only 7% of that of South Korea. Even though export restrictions and penalties have hindered Huawei’s ability to dominate the global 5G industry, the Chinese company is still unaffected by better advancements coming from the US.
The Biden administration’s unveiling of the inaugural National Spectrum Strategy signals a significant commitment to addressing the decline in America’s digital infrastructure. This strategy, coupled with the broadband investments outlined in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the industrial policy of the CHIPS and Science Act, reflects an acknowledgment that telecommunications policy and infrastructure play a crucial role in maintaining American technology leadership. Despite these positive steps, it is evident that our current approach to spectrum innovation falls short of what is required.
One significant problem is that we are unable to change with the times and keep up with the advancements in telecoms. As we move closer to the 5G future, the emphasis on expedited mobile network rollout will likely remain central to conversations over spectrum regulation and distribution. Although this strategy made sense when the smartphone revolution was being driven by substantial advancements in cellular technology in the 1990s and 2000s, its applicability is waning in the present environment.
Expressing concern about the United States lagging behind in 5G is valid, but it’s crucial to recognize that mobile networks represent just one facet of an ever-growing and intricate communication system. This system encompasses data exchanges among individuals, computers, devices, applications, the cloud, and autonomous agents.
A significant amount of the world’s data traffic is handled by hyper-scale enterprises; this includes data from mobile cellular networks and the management of the submerged fiber-optic cables that carry data across continents. Wi-Fi is an unlicensed wireless technology that makes internet connections possible for most forms of communication. Interestingly, we spend about 90% of our time indoors, where mobile cellular service is less useful. The fact that more than half of smartphone data is transferred over Wi-Fi rather than the carrier’s spectrum even among mobile network subscribers emphasizes the importance of this unlicensed wireless technology.
The current spectrum policies do not align with the evolving nature of communication, and even mobile network operators acknowledge that the existing model does not provide sufficient incentives for infrastructure development. There is a notable slowdown in investment for 5G network deployments and indications of disinterest in future 6G investments. Notably, Orange, Europe’s third-largest telecommunications company, has taken a bold stance, asserting that “5G is the last ‘G’,” and expressing a reluctance to market 6G when it emerges. As wireless use cases continue to evolve, our spectrum management regime must adapt to keep pace with these changes
It is essential to formulate a strategy that leverages our strengths and avoids engaging in competitions where our chances of success are minimal. While targeted government subsidies can be beneficial and necessary, the likelihood of substantial government investment shortly is low, and surpassing China in spending may not be feasible.
Additionally, attempting to outperform in the production of generic communications equipment domestically may not be practical or cost-effective. Rather than embracing a government-directed command economy, it is more prudent to explore alternatives. While pressuring countries to refrain from using Huawei systems is an option, it is crucial to provide a clear and viable alternative that is either more cost-effective or superior, as asking them to forgo the growth offered by the digital economy without a compelling alternative is unlikely to be successful.
Indeed, we possess distinct comparative strengths that can serve as foundations for advancement, particularly in the realms of software, competitive innovation, and market shaping and design. These strengths offer a strategic opportunity for us to spearhead the development of world-class digital infrastructure. By capitalizing on these areas of expertise, we can position ourselves at the forefront of digital advancements, fostering innovation and shaping markets in ways that contribute to the establishment of robust and globally competitive digital infrastructure
The United States has a competitive edge in software development, and the evolving landscape of network architecture, increasingly defined by software, aligns with this strength. This shift resembles the virtualization of computing into the cloud. Even in cases where non-American companies supply network hardware, U.S. companies can maintain competitiveness by excelling in the production of the software essential for network management. Initiatives like Open Radio Access Networks, which allow multiple vendors to contribute to the mobile ecosystem, present promising avenues that foster innovation.
The development of attractive “killer app” use cases for wireless technologies is necessary to advance digital infrastructure. Creating revolutionary wireless applications for smart cities, autonomous vehicles, sophisticated manufacturing, and remote sensing creates demand that drives the advancement of digital infrastructure. Furthermore, improvements in AI-based network management apps will improve the technological capability for effective spectrum use.
A strategic response to competitive command economies is to encourage competitive spectrum access in order to accelerate innovation. Although the National Spectrum Strategy shows a positive trend toward more open spectrum sharing “by design,” there is still an opportunity for improvement. The goal, as stated by Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the FCC, is to turn spectrum scarcity into abundance. Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, it is preferable to avoid exclusive use since it tends to exacerbate scarcity and obstruct the objective of encouraging innovation through widespread access to spectrum resources.