(peppy percussion music)
- [Narrator] The fifth generation of wireless technology
has made it to cities in the United States.
Across the country, T-Mobile, Sprint, and others
are laying the foundation for a faster, better internet,
but in the race to develop 5G,
U.S. firms are already at a disadvantage.
They have limited access to some of the radio frequencies
that enable 5G, and operators worry
that there's not enough space to meet anticipated demand.
In Chicago, Verizon download speeds
reached a maximum above one gigabyte per second.
While maximums are interesting,
median speeds say more about coverage.
Look in South Korea, and you'll see higher median speeds.
That means their networks may be faster in more scenarios.
To understand why the U.S. has a disadvantage,
you've got to understand how wireless technology,
like 5G, works. (pleasant electronic music)
Most wireless systems rely on radio waves
that can carry signals back and forth
between your device and a service provider.
To run these systems, firms like Sprint or Vodafone
have to buy space in the radio frequency spectrum.
The left side of the spectrum chart
represents low frequencies.
Radio waves in this portion of spectrum are long
and can travel farther distances.
Think of it like playing heavy bass in a building.
The low frequencies can be heard from a distance,
even if they travel through solid objects like walls.
Frequencies toward the middle left of this chart
are in the mid band.
These frequencies, between one and six gigahertz,
are quite useful.
They're low enough to send signals a long distance,
but they have an advantage.
They can carry more data than low bands.
Some versions of 4G and WiFi live in this sweet spot band.
The main issue here is that space is limited.
Move to the right, and the frequencies get higher still.
As frequencies get higher, their wavelengths shrink.
Shorter wavelengths let engineers cram more data
into their radio signal.
Firms in the United States are mostly building 5G networks
in this higher frequency portion of spectrum.
The ultra-fast download speeds and low latency
will enable developments in self-driving cars
and virtual reality, but the short wavelengths here
present technical issues. (pleasant orchestral music)
For starters, the waves don't travel very far.
This means that your signal might not work indoors
or if anything blocks your line of sight
to the tower, like a tree.
The inability to travel great distances
also means that cities will need to install several nodes
to ensure a blanket of coverage.
The buildout of that infrastructure will not be cheap.
So why are U.S. firms at a disadvantage?
It has to do with governance.
The International Telecommunication Union
divides the world into three regions.
Within the regions,
countries negotiate to reserve frequencies.
Operators then bid for a portion.
Think of it like an auction for invisible real estate.
In the United States,
two groups control that bidding process.
The FCC holds auctions for private groups
like Sprint and T-Mobile, and the NTIA does the same
for federal agencies like the Defense Department.
- The Department of Defense has traditionally been
one of the biggest spectrum users in the U.S.,
and so they are the incumbent in many bands,
and any bands where you could move them out
has been done long ago.
- [Narrator] As a result, U.S. firms have less space
to build 5G networks that balance higher data speeds
with reasonable coverage.
Countries in other regions have more access
to that spectrum sweet spot,
so China, Japan, and South Korea
are building out midband and high band all at once.
For its part, the FCC wants to help domestic firms
roll out 5G fast.
- My plan includes three key components,
freeing up spectrum, promoting wireless infrastructure,
and modernizing regulations.
The FCC is moving forward aggressively on all fronts.
- [Narrator] The three 5G-related auctions in 2019
are for those faster high bands,
which means that early rollouts in the United States
will mostly be that fast download,
limited coverage flavor of 5G.
Firms in other countries don't have that limitation.
Because they have more access to the mid band,
their 5G networks will offer wide coverage
alongside blazing fast speeds.
Many analysts anticipate that companies in China
will lead the charge toward a mid band-type 5G.
And leading the global market early is important
according to the Defense Innovation Board.
Previous market leaders in wireless tech
set standards that the rest of the world had to follow.
That's good for business.
Analysts say that U.S. firms have some flexibility
to repurpose their existing mid band spectrum.
AT&T, for example, will introduce
their mid band Sub-6 network in 2020.
As the decade advances, firms in the United States
are expected to lobby for more access across the spectrum,
but those negotiations will take time.
One FCC commissioner said that in the past,
these agreements have taken five to 10 years,
which means that for the near-term,
5G in the U.S. will be fast but not very accessible.
(pleasant synth rock music)