Defense officials lukewarm on 5G spectrum-leasing plan pushed by the White House

The White House has pushed the Pentagon to set up a controversial spectrum-leasing plan matching one being proposed by a politically connected company called Rivada Networks, which wants the lucrative job of using that spectrum to create a nationwide 5G network. Rivada proposing that it create a 5G network and rent out that spectrum to private companies such as Netflix, Facebook or Tesla. Some of the revenue would be sent back to the federal government. If the arrangement moved forward, a formal procurement process would determine what sort of fees Rivada could collect. Craig Moffett, a leading telecommunications analyst with the firm MoffettNathanson, said the spectrum in question is worth between $50 billion and $75 billion. But the military has not embraced the proposal, even though it was pushed directly by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.