FCC ready to open door on 5G wireless frontier
The Federal Communications Commission is set to jump-start the 5G era.
As part of their monthly meeting Thursday, the FCC commissioners were expected to vote to designate a huge block of spectrum for the use of next-generation wireless broadband, services up to 100 times faster than current wireless connections.
These applications — called 5G, as they are meant to succeed current 4G wireless technology — promise not only faster but more robust capabilities than current services and could be used to supplant wired home broadband connections, too.
Companies such as AT&T and Verizon within the U.S. — and providers in other countries — have begun 5G testing. But the FCC’s move would be the first global set-aside of high-band spectrum, specifically the 28 Gigahertz, 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands, for licensed uses.
Such a move “puts this country on … a home-field advantage,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday. “I truly believe the decision we make Thursday could be most important decision this commission makes this year.”
Additional spectrum in the 6471 GHz band would be set aside for unlicensed uses.
This spectrum previously could not support mobile devices, but ongoing technological advances will make the airwaves valuable. That’s because the bands have more than five times the space of lower bands and can deliver more data much more quickly than today’s services.
These new 5G networks will require local, state and federal cooperation to create the dense network of cells needed to connect all manner of devices and advance the vision of the Internet of Things, said Richard Adler, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future.
“Advanced 5G networks will have a transformative effect on entire sectors of the economy, including healthcare, education, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, hospitality, transportation, among others,” Adler said in a statement Tuesday.
5G testing is at its infancy, with major trials expected next year and early deployment in 2018.