Opposing view: ‘We need new rules for new 5G networks’

We are on the cusp of new lifechanging innovations, from connected cars and remote surgery to energy-efficient smart cities and the Internet of Things. To make those a reality, we need updated wireless networks, 5G.

The U.S. led the world in 4G with the smartphone you use every day, which ensured that the corresponding economic benefits and innovation, like the app industry, happened here.

China and other countries are spending billions in the global race to 5G. America needs to win, and our wireless industry is ready to invest, too. It will spend $275 billion to deploy 5G networks, according to Accenture. But to win, we also need modernized government rules, because tomorrow’s wireless networks will be different.

Instead of 200-foot tall towers, new networks will use cells — modern antennas the size of pizza boxes, deployed on streetlights and utility poles. While small cells take only an hour or two to install, right now they can take up to two years to get government approval.

We need local, state and federal leaders to update their rules for these new networks instead of applying rules written decades ago for towers.

Congress long ago set guidelines to facilitate wireless deployment, which have been critical to us leading the world in wireless. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are rightfully looking to update that guidance for local officials for 5G.

We have seen 14 states already update their rules to attract 5G investment and opportunity. These are important steps, and ones we should all champion. Importantly, proposed reforms preserve local authority via oversight of health and safety codes and community aesthetic concerns.

We need to ask: Are we committed to winning the global 5G race? If America wants to ensure that the next generation of health care, transportation and education innovation happens here, and not overseas, we need new rules for new 5G networks.

Meredith Attwell Baker is president and CEO of CTIA, the trade association representing the U.S. wireless communications industry.