Leading towards Next Generation "5G" Mobile Services

[Commentary] It is because of the success of flexible use policies that helped the United States become a leader in LTE that we intend to build our 5G policies on the bedrock of flexible use. 5G may mean not only better broadband, but also services and applications fundamentally different from those that are possible today, including services not yet even imagined, and potentially entire new industries. My goal is to foster an environment in which the widest possible variety of new technologies can grow and flourish.

The Federal Communications Commission took the first step in the fall of 2014 when it adopted a Notice of Inquiry asking about expanded wireless use of higher-frequency bands. We expect to follow up on the Notice of Inquiry and issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the use of higher-frequency bands for mobile and other uses in 2015. In addition, as an implementation of existing flexible rules, I foresee lower-frequency bands playing a role in 5G. For example, the timing of the incentive auction makes the 600 MHz band a prime candidate for deployment of a wide-area 5G coverage layer. In much the same way that 700 MHz paved the way for America's world-leading deployment of 4G, so could 600 MHz accelerate U.S. deployment of 5G. To establish an environment to drive innovations and investments in 5G technologies, we will continue to work with relevant stakeholders and coordinate closely with NTIA and other federal agencies. We will consider ways in which new technology enables new opportunities, such as two-way spectrum sharing to increase capability of government and commercial users alike. In addition, we will encourage and support other agencies' efforts to fund research on 5G and will encourage building cybersecurity protections for new 5G networks from the start.