The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, said he opposed the idea. He argued that the federal government taking control of developing 5G networks, as the mobile technology is called, could hurt the private sector and the economy.
“The market, not the government, is best positioned to drive innovation and investment,” Mr. Pai, a Republican, said in a statement. “Any federal effort to construct a nationalized 5G network would be a costly and counterproductive distraction from the policies we need to help the United States win the 5G future.”
USTelecom, the trade group that represents telecommunications and cable broadband providers, said any government-run plan would set back the industry.
“There is nothing that would slam the brakes more quickly on our hard-won momentum to be the leader in the global race for 5G network deployment,” Jonathan Spalter, chief executive of USTelecom, said in a statement.
The protests followed a report, first obtained and reported on by news site Axios, that the Trump Administration is considering such a nationwide initiative, in part to prevent infiltration by China. The Trump national security team is in the early stages of deciding whether or not to build and operate it, said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to discuss internal deliberations on a national security issue.
A presentation was recently made on the topic by a senior National Security Council official to senior administration officials, Axios said.
A centralized, secure national 5G network could be built within three years and represent "the 21st century equivalent of the Eisenhower National Highway System," according to the memo acquired by Axios.
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