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FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, told attendees at the Mobile World Congress that the US must seek a “light touch” regulatory framework to enable swift development of next generation networks
The US plans to launch 5G spectrum auctions later this year, according to Ajit Pai, chairman of the US’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Pai said that the US would hold auctions in November 2018 for spectrum in the 28GHz band. These will be followed by auctions for 24GHz band spectrum.
“We aspire to lead the world in 5G…I am hopeful that we’ll be able to kick off a major spectrum auction in November,” he said.
Pai stated that the US needed "modern, flexible, light touch network regulation," to help it progress rapidly with the development and roll out of 5G services, and to ensure that it doesn’t get bogged down in the type of regulatory wrangling about which operators in Europe are complaining.
Pai emphasised the importance of automated networks to the evolution of next generation services.
"To realise the full promise of 5G we will need smart networks, not dumb pipes. Dumb pipes won’t deliver smart cities. Dumb pipes won’t enable millions of connected, self-driving cars to navigate the roads safely at the same time," he said.
