The United States leads the world in gigabit broadband, with 68.5 million people having the service available to them, according to a gigabit availability report from VIAVI Solutions. Gigabit connectivity is available for 354 million people across 51 countries worldwide. This is about five percent of the global population. At 61.5 million people, China has moved ahead of South Korea as the country with the second most people with gigabit availability. That total represents an increase of over 41 million with access in August 2019. Despite the significant increase, only 4.5% of the country has access. About 46.9 million people have gigabit access in South Korea.

The bipartisan leadership of several key Senate committees urged President Donald Trump’s national security adviser to designate a senior coordinator dedicated to leading the nation’s effort to develop and deploy next-generation communications technologies. In a letter to Robert O’Brien, who was appointed as national security adviser in Sept, the top Republican and Democratic Senators on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee stressed the urgent need for the Trump administration to develop a national strategy for 5G, and to prioritize across government agencies the nation’s effort to develop and deploy the technology. "Without a national strategy, facilitated by a common understanding of the geopolitical and technical impact of 5G and future telecommunications advancements, we expect each agency will continue to operate within its own mandate, rather than identifying national authority and policy deficiencies that do not neatly fall into a single department or agency," they wrote. "This fractured approach will not be sufficient to rise to the challenge the country faces."

The letter was signed by Sens Richard Burr (R-NC)  and Mark Warner (D-VA), the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee; Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Gary Peters (D-MI), who lead the Senate Homeland Security Committee; James Risch (R-ID) and Robert Menendez, (D-NJ), of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and James Inhofe (R-OK) and Jack Reed (D-RI), of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

President Donald Trump says he wants the US to dominate 5G ultra-fast internet, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has been clearing regulation to speed the way. But now they appear to have succumbed to Washington rent-seekers and their political mouthpieces. Chairman Pai notified Congress that the FCC plans to repurpose spectrum that is currently licensed to satellite providers for 5G and auction it off to other users. A government auction, he says, “will afford all parties a fair opportunity to compete for this 5G spectrum.” Pai appears to be taking orders from his masters in the White House and Congress, but he’s bollixing up a plan that would more efficiently reallocate spectrum and encourage other licensees to do so as well. Delay is now guaranteed since the FCC will have to provide notice and comment and issue multiple orders before holding an auction. It took the FCC five years to implement a 2012 law ordering an auction of broadcaster spectrum. Blame bureaucratic hangups and foot-dragging by private industry. The US can’t afford either if it wants to lead in 5G. The unfortunate reality is that Pai’s government auction probably won’t happen for years, and US 5G investment will lag because of it.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, in consultation with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, has appointed members to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. Chairman Pai has designated Teddy Bekele, Land O’Lakes Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, to serve as Chair of the Task Force, and Catherine Moyer, Pioneer Communications Chief Executive Officer and General Manager. to serve as Vice Chair.

The Task Force will hold its first meeting on Monday, December 9, 2019, beginning at 9:30 am. The primary agenda of the Task Force’s first meeting will be to introduce members of the Task Force, describe the focus of each working group, review the 2018 Farm Bill and existing FCC and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and policies relevant to the Task Force’s duties, and begin discussing strategies to advance broadband deployment on agricultural land and promote precision agriculture.