President Donald Trump tweeted his call for victory in the race to 5G next-gen wireless broadband. That came the same day a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) update on Trump’s tech accomplishments led off with efforts to goose that 5G effort.
Sandwiched between tweets about The Wall and not letting an “Isis wife” back into the country, was a two-part tweet the gist of which was that the U.S, had to win and a spur to companies to “step up.”
I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on………
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
….something that is so obviously the future. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
CTIA, the wireless industry association, which represents the major carriers rolling out 5G, provided an update, suggesting they had not only stepped up but were already running hard toward that goal — China is the main competitor.
“We share the president’s commitment to leading the world in next-generation 5G wireless,” said CTIA following the tweets Thursday (Feb. 21). “Thanks to the innovation, hard work and investment of America’s wireless industry, the first commercial 5G deployments are happening now, in communities across the country. With the Administration’s continued backing, the U.S. wireless industry can bring more robust 5G networks to more communities faster.”
See also: What 5G Could Mean For CE Retail
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who has made 5G rollout a priority as well, cited new Cisco stats to indicate the U.S. is running strong as well as hard. “In the global race to 5G, we’re in a good position coming out of the starting blocks because we’ve been forward-looking on both infrastructure and spectrum policy — key components of the FCC’s 5G FAST Plan,” he blogged Thursday (Feb. 21) about the upcoming FCC March meeting, which will include a 5G related item.
