The race to be one of the first providers to offer 5G service is worldwide, with carriers around the globe clamoring to be able to tout their networks’ availability. Here in the US, Verizon has announced plans to launch a limited 5G network this year, but some other carriers are skeptical. When Korea Telecom announced plans this week to make their 5G service available in 2019, they commented that Verizon’s promised 5G network is actually “a step backward,” since it will not provide broad coverage. As a KT executive Oh Seong-Mok explained, “it is true 5G only when coverage is guaranteed,” so because Verizon’s 2018 launch will not provide nationwide coverage, the door remains open for KT’s launch to be the first true 5G service in the world.

While KT has a point, launching a nationwide network in a country the size of the US is no small task – and if Verizon delivers on their promise to launch 5G in some areas this year, it will still be a huge step in wireless.

This Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on proposed rules seeking to streamline wireless infrastructure deployment. This Order, and its passage, comes at a critical time in America’s infrastructure story. The United States has historically focused modernization efforts on physical assets including roads, bridges and highways. But, to unlock significant economic and life-changing consumer benefits, we must prioritize the modernization of next-generation wireless networks.

The current U.S. landscape with 4G wireless has given way to successful innovations in our burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) world. Yet, it won’t hold a candle to what is to come if we can successfully usher in the next stage of connectivity, i.e., 5G wireless broadband services.

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UK mobile operator O2 released a report this week titled “The value of 5G for cities and communities,” detailing the anticipated positive impacts 5G will have in a variety of sectors. The report utilizes research and examples rooted in the UK,  but the message is global: the integration of 5G technology in any city or town could mean billions of dollars in savings and increased productivity.

The report illustrates potential benefits everywhere from healthcare to transportation to energy. Leveraging 5G to enable widespread adoption of video conferencing by medical professionals, for example, would allow doctors to offer remote consultations when office visits are not necessary and would improve post-hospitalization patient monitoring. In the transportation industry, 5G sensors would enable predictive maintenance to reduce train delays and cancellations. The possibilities are virtually endless, and so are the benefits!

Read the O2 report (pdf)

Donald Trump cited security concerns as the reason behind his executive order blocking Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of Qualcomm, and it appears that it’s Qualcomm’s 5G knowledge and research that US leaders are concerned about. Qualcomm has been a leader in the fledgling – but extremely important – 5G arena, and US experts may not want that expertise and advantage to be lost to the Singapore-based Broadcom. This move is certainly in line with other decisions Trump has made to penalize or block foreign interest in certain industries, so it seems likely that the motive for the decision may be purely political and not actually influenced by legitimate 5G-related security concerns.

Read more at Cnet