Infrastructure

National Security Experts: Additional 5G delays “a costly and avoidable mistake”

We’ve written about the dysfunction in Washington delaying efforts to get powerful new 5G networks fully online.  These networks are critical to America’s innovation culture and high tech leadership.

By now the FAA’s mischief on this issue has been widely exposed.  A recent Ars Technica report explained “FAA forced delay in 5G rollout despite having no proof of harm to aviation.”  UK spectrum regulator William Webb recently complained “there is no excuse for” the FAA’s 5G “blockade”.

And now a group of experienced National Security policymakers is sounding an additional warning – tying 5G delays to America’s long term role as tech and innovation leader worldwide.  They write “it would be a costly and avoidable mistake with profound consequences for U.S. economic competitiveness and national security interests to allow the dispute over spectrum policy to linger indefinitely.”

The FCC should heed the experts and move quickly forward with full 5G deployment – it’s an issue of national security as well as US leadership overall.

Small Cells For The Win: Powerful Connectivity During Major Events is No Longer a Wish List Item — It’s Now a Must

“As anyone who has been to a sporting event, concert, rally or even a large graduation ceremony recently can attest, the absence of even a single bar or two of connectivity can be a frustrating experience,” writes Mike Montgomery of CALinnovates. “Networks quickly get bogged down when thousands of people with thousands of devices compete for the attention of the local communications infrastructure.”

An extreme case in point: the Super Bowl. In 2015, Verizon handled 7 terabytes of data at Super Bowl XLIX. That number reached 11 terabytes two year later.In 2017, that number was up to 11 terabytes.

Simply put, our current infrastructure can’t handle this load. See Montgomery’s piece about the problem and its solution here.