Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he intends to establish the 5G Fund, which would make up to $9B in Universal Service Fund support available to carriers to deploy advanced 5G mobile wireless services in rural America. This major investment in rural America would be allocated through a reverse auction and would target hard-to-serve areas with sparse populations and/or rugged terrain. The $9B Fund also would set aside at least $1B specifically for deployments facilitating precision agriculture needs. "5G has the potential to bring many benefits to American consumers and businesses, including wireless networks that are more responsive, more secure, and up to 100 times faster than today's 4G LTE networks. We want to make sure that rural Americans enjoy these benefits, just as residents of large urban areas will. In order to do that, the Universal Service Fund must be forward-looking and support the networks of tomorrow. Moreover, America's farms and ranches have unique wireless connectivity needs, as I've seen across the country. That's why I will move forward as quickly as possible to establish a 5G Fund that would bring next-generation 5G services to rural areas and would reserve some of that funding for 5G networks that promote precision agriculture. We must ensure that 5G narrows rather than widens the digital divide and that rural Americans receive the benefits that come from wireless innovation," said Chairman Pai. Mobile service providers working on building out 5G networks include Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (TMUS), which is in the process of merging with Sprint (S). Suppliers of 5G networking gear include Nokia (NOK) and Ericsson (ERIC). Reference Link
