America Has Lost Its Lead in 5G

Six years ago, I stood with President Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to announce America’s 5G strategy. It was the first time next-generation wireless technology had been elevated to a presidential policy priority. The results were immediate. The U.S. freed up more commercial spectrum than ever before. We modernized outdated infrastructure rules and created an environment in which U.S. wireless providers could build world-class networks. By the end of President Trump’s first term, the U.S. led the world in 5G availability. But in the past few years, that urgency has waned in Washington—and so has our lead. Without strong national leadership, those investments will be undercut by policy paralysis. The Federal Communications Commission’s auction authority—critical to deploying commercial airwaves through a transparent, free-market approach—was allowed to lapse in 2023, for the first time in three decades. Coordination between the FCC and other federal agencies on spectrum ground to a halt. Without action, this self-imposed bottleneck will constrain our ability to compete—not only in wireless, but in every industry that depends on communication technologies.

[Ajit Pai is president and CEO of CTIA, a wireless telecommunications trade group. He served as FCC chairman, 2017-21.]