Five Ideas for the Road to 5G

Here are my five ideas for the road to 5G:

1. To find spectrum for next generation networks we need to look high: the 5G future will look different [from 4G]—very different. We will need to bust through the old 3 GHz ceiling and create new possibilities for millimeter wave spectrum—in the airwaves at 24 GHz and above. This is spectrum that is way, way up there.
2. When we look high for new spectrum, we cannot forget that we also need to look low: while we explore the big possibilities of millimeter wave, we need to continue to look for opportunities
3. below 3 GHz.
4. To build a bigger wireless future, we need to focus as much on the ground as on the skies: We can begin by taking a comprehensive look at tower siting practices and make them
5. more consistent across the country.
6. If we want a bold wireless future, we need a better way to manage our balance sheets: When auction values are not right, relocation costs are wrong, or assumptions are built into the baseline that don’t reflect what is happening—we have a problem.
7. We need sandboxes for cities—and more experimental licenses: 5G technology will have applications everywhere—in rural areas, urban areas, and everything in between. But these applications hold special promise in our cities. That’s because 5G will bring high speed, low latency technology to densely populated areas, opening up a whole new range of civic and commercial services.