US, Competing With Korea on 5G, Can Use the Standard on Digital Divide, Nokia Rep Says

U.S. 5G rollout is proceeding apace, as the country competes with South Korea to be a leader on the standard, said Nokia's Dev Khoslaa, a head of IoT sales. "From the U.S. point of view, we are at the forefront of these developments." He noted the country's top four and other carriers are deploying it, while South Korea quickly gained 5G subscribers after it was introduced there. "We continue to see very good traction" in 5G overall and "there’s still growth in 4G" expected for now, the executive told local telecom authorities gathering Monday in Tampa. "It is on a fast path in terms of ramp up." The standard can help address the digital divide, he said at the NATOA conference. It can address households without fiber, which is most of them in the U.S., he added, as Microsoft finds some 160 million people don't use the internet at broadband-fast speeds. "There is a gap here that needs to be addressed," Khoslaa said. "Even within the cities, there is still … a disparity" and fixed wireless can address these "challenges," he continued: "Fixed wireless access is really here and now. So there are opportunities here" to provide broadband.