Mid-Band Is 'Goldilocks Band' for 5G, Says AEI Scholar

The U.S. can win the race to 5G but not without help from policymakers, said Roslyn Layton, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “States and municipalities must streamline policies on infrastructure deployment,” Layton blogged Thursday. “Old siting and permitting rules designed for large cell towers must be modernized for today’s smaller and less intrusive technologies.” Layton stressed importance of the FCC making more mid-band spectrum available on a quick timeline. “Until now, the availability of mid-band, more flexible use spectrum has been lacking,” she said. “It will be critical that FCC deliver on mid-band spectrum, the so-called ‘Goldilocks band,’ which is neither too low -- which is best for long distances and penetrating obstacles -- nor too high -- best for high data throughput but only moves short distances.”