(The opinions expressed in guest op-eds are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.)
Government REALLY doesn’t like ceding anything of which it has possession:
“Government is just another organism. Just like any other organism, its first priority is self-preservation. Its second – is to grow. The most it possibly can. It wants to be bigger, do more – control more.
“There are more than four million humans who work in just the federal government. Most of them see preserving and growing government as in their interest. And see those who want Less Government as the enemy.”
The federal government is currently in possession of WAY too much of the wireless spectrum with which we do everything wireless — including (especially) Fifth Generation (5G) wireless technology.
This is a great and growing private sector problem:
“Spectrum – is a finite resource. And all spectrum is not created equal. Some bands of spectrum are much more powerful and effective than others.
“Think of a Monopoly game board. Some spectrum is Boardwalk and Park Place – some is Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues…and all properties in between.”
And The Feds are in possession of a LOT of the best spectrum:
“(G)uess who controls a majority of the best spectrum, the spectrum most suitable for mobile broadband? It’s the federal government itself. Almost 60 percent of that spectrum is in federal hands, primarily used by federal agencies for their own purposes.
“Without a doubt, the federal government has legitimate needs for spectrum. The Department of Defense, for example, uses spectrum for radars.
“But it probably won’t surprise you to hear that the federal government doesn’t use much of the spectrum that it controls efficiently.
“Indeed, just last year, the Government Accountability Office reported that federal agencies do not focus on ensuring the best use of spectrum and need not justify their spectrum needs.
“Without any market or policy incentives to be ‘spectrally efficient,’ as we say in the business, it’s not a surprise that these agencies aren’t as nimble and innovative as is the private sector.
“It is unacceptable that about 60 federal agencies control more spectrum than is available to the hundreds of millions of Americans with wireless devices.
“As is the case in many other areas, the federal government can and should make do with less.”
But Government the Organism — doesn’t want to give up ANY of its spectrum. Because of course. And they are making increasingly ridiculous, anti-science arguments in defense of their not doing anything about their massive over-share of the spectrum the private sector increasingly needs.
And our private sector 5G wireless development is of much more than just commercial import.
The Deep State Is Imposing Many Impediments to 5G Wireless – and China Loves It:
“We are in a literal life-or-death race with Communist China to be the first nation to get to Fifth Generation (5G) wireless….
“The US got to 4G first – which meant the US got to set the global standards. As we did with 3G – and all previous network iterations….
“If Communist China is first to 5G, they will be in a position to treat the worlds Internet and this massive cache of data – the way they treat their people and their Internet. Which ain’t great.”
For several years, the Department of Transportation (DoT) had been making the following absurd, anti-science assertion in defense of their indefensible possession of some key spectrum:
“Preserving the 5.9 GHz band for transportation communications is essential to public safety today and in the future. The automotive industry and municipalities are already deploying V2X technology and actively utilizing all seven channels of the 5.9 GHz band.”
I guarantee you the private sector will provide FAR superior public safety than will the DoT. Oh: And the DoT had that spectrum for years — and gotten NOWHERE with anything “public safety.” So, FINALLY, The Donald Trump Administration did this….
And then the Trump Administration did this….
FCC Votes to Divide 5.9 GHz to Help Conquer 5G:
“The FCC has voted unanimously to propose freeing up the majority of the 5.9 Ghz band for WiFi and other unlicensed uses, looking to help create an unlicensed wideband WiFi superhighway to 5G.”
Speaking of spectrum, Big Government and their anti-science lying….
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Wants to Holdup Your 5G Spectrum for Itself:
“The future of America’s 5G wireless services may be threatened by unwarranted concerns coming from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)….
“The FAA says they are worried that 5G wireless services that use a portion of spectrum called the C-Band, claiming that it may — just may — interfere with radio altimeters gauge an airplane’s altitude. Protecting an airplane’s altimeters from interference is crucial, except that the call of warning is baseless in that the FAA has not provided reliable evidence to demonstrate that 5G services pose a threat to flight safety.
“For several years now, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the designated expert agency with experience and responsibility to understand spectrum and interference issues, has studied the issue and collected information and comments during opened proceeds, but has concluded that the 5G C-Band spectrum poses no problem for passenger safety.
“The FCC found that mandating 220+ megahertz of guard band between 5G C-Band operations and the space aviation occupies would provide more than enough buffer space to allow both altimeters and 5G services to operate without interference.
“Real world experience also shows that 30-plus countries use the same spectrum bands for 5G services but have not had a problem with interference.”
Spectrum works in exactly the same way country-to-country. So thirty other countries safely using this spectrum for 5G — means we can safely use it for 5G.
The government’s self-serving, anti-science lies to the contrary notwithstanding.
So we need to do with the FAA’s spectrum concerns what we did with the DoT’s spectrum concerns.
Ignore the government’s lies — and provide more spectrum to the private sector and its 5G expansion.
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