US: FCC says US in “good shape” in 5G race

With 5G wireless coming, the U.S. is in a good position to dominate the market, said Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr.

According to a report in CNBC, Carr said on “Squawk Alley” late last week that the U.S. is in “good shape” in terms of building out networks to support 5G. “We are really on the cusp of some significant technological breakthroughs, and it’s happening at the right time because we are getting our regulations right as well,” Carr said, according to CNBC.

The comments from Carr come after President Donald Trump tweeted last week he wants the U.S. to lead in 5G and even 6G technology. He also said on Twitter, according to CNBC, that “American companies must step up their efforts.” While Carr didn’t specifically address 6G, which doesn’t exist, in the CNBC interview, he said there have been talks about next generation networks and that 5G is an important component of it. “There are other technologies on the horizon as well. There’s a new generation of low-Earth orbit satellites that are coming online. The wired broadband networks are being upgraded as well,” he said, according to CNBC. “We are focused on getting the regulatory playing field right and then letting the private sector deploy whatever new broadband technologies that they can.”

The government wants the private sector to lead in the race for 5G dominance, with the FCC commissioner saying the federal government has removed a “couple of billion dollars in red tape,” with a lot of it coming on the infrastructure side to help providers pick up the pace of development. He said China is able to quickly deploy new networks because the economic system in the country is different. Nevertheless, Carr said he knows the U.S. will win the 5G race over China. “We won the race to 4G by doing exactly that, getting the government out of the way. We are doubling down on those efforts right now as we make this push to 5G,” he said.