CES 2020: FCC Chairman Pai Says 5G Can Help Close Rural Divide

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said he thought 5G wireless technology could indeed help close the rural digital divide but conceded there were challenges to building out the next-generation technology to wherever it needed to go. In terms of smartphones, Chairman Pai said, 5G might be more a "big city use case," but he saw opportunities beyond urban with fixed wireless, which was why he was bullish on the trial window for the spectrum in the 2.5-gigahertz band. He also pointed to precision agriculture and telemedicine. Asked what Congress could do to help speed 5G, Chairman Pai suggested “more clarity about spectrum policy.” Asked about that 6 GHz band, Chairman Pai suggested that, incumbent recalcitrance aside, the FCC has to "find a way to share this public resource."