GAO Sees Benefits to Federal Help to Advance 5G

Further R&D into advanced spectrum-sharing and high-band technologies could provide opportunities to better use the airwaves for 5G and future generations of wireless networks, GAO reported Tuesday. It suggested lawmakers consider updates to cybersecurity and privacy laws to address the implications of 5G. Lawmakers who sought the study included leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Foster, D-Ill. The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program’s Wireless Spectrum R&D Interagency Working Group and National Institute of Standards and Technology “identified the need for effective automation of interference detection and mediation as especially important as highly directional, active antennas become more common,” the auditor found. Policymakers could promote R&D via grants to academic and research institutions, a public-private partnership or tax credits for industry, GAO said. “For testing and development in real-world settings, new 5G test beds may be necessary, according to NIST, or it may be possible to use existing test beds.” High-band research could “help close the knowledge gaps and increase understanding of any possible health effects, including the effects of long-term exposure to high-band RF energy,” GAO said. Antenna research "could result in improved statistical modeling of antenna characteristics and the generation of data to more accurately represent signal propagation, according to NIST.” R&D generally “can be costly, must be coordinated and administered, is generally considered a long-term investment, and its potential benefits are uncertain,” the report said. “Policymakers would need to identify a new funding source for research or determine which existing funding streams to reallocate. Similarly, funding development work at new test bed facilities would involve significant costs. On the other hand, adapting existing test bed facilities would not require a significant capital outlay, but may require significant coordination.” Some R&D, cybersecurity and privacy matters involving 5G “may be addressed without any intervention from policymakers,” the auditor said: Maintaining the status quo “will likely not fully address” those issues and "may contribute to other 5G challenges,” including “national security risks.”