Official Behind 5G Network Plan Leaves TWH

The author of a memo arguing for a government takeover of development of the nation’s 5G mobile network has been removed from the National Security Council staff, according to The Washington Post.  The memo’s unauthorized release this week caused uproar in the telecom community and created embarrassment for the White House.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding is no longer serving as NSC senior director for strategic planning. Spalding was not fired, according to the official, who said his detail had ended and was not renewed. Spalding was not implicated in the leak of the memo, but officials said his advocacy for the plan had gone beyond his role, contributing to the NSC leadership’s decision to send him back to the Air Force.

Part of Spalding’s job had been to canvas private industry and outside groups about the plan, but in recent weeks senior officials became concerned that he had become too aggressive in pushing the idea, getting out ahead of the administration’s still nascent deliberations. He has not been disciplined formally and is free to seek a new job in the Defense Department.

Another senior administration official said there was considerable upheaval inside the White House this week after the 5G memo story broke. Although it is unclear whether Spalding leaked the memo, because he had shared it so widely, some officials judged him responsible.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Jan. 29 that consideration of the plan was at its “earliest stages” and the administration was nowhere near a decision. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said spending federal dollars to build a 5G network would be a “costly and counterproductive distraction” from the competitive, market-driven approach that was needed.