CCA Study Pegs Cost of 5G Everywhere at $36B

The extra cost to ensure access to ubiquitous 5G for all in the U.S., “and not just those who will be covered by currently planned private investment,” would be $36 billion, said a CostQuest Associates study, commissioned by the Competitive Carriers Association and released Friday. The FCC 2020 5G Fund order (see 2010270034) dedicates up to $9 billion to deploy in rural and hard-to-reach areas, the paper said. “While an important step and a welcomed increase in resources allocated specifically for mobile service, this figure was not supported with evidence that this amount would be enough to provide truly comparable wireless services to rural areas as those enjoyed in urban locations,” it said: “The Commission did not point to any data to support the budget amount, and indeed the 5G Fund Order was adopted before mobile coverage maps were updated, so reliable data to identify the total needed budget was unavailable.” Closing the digital divide isn’t “complete without access to mobile connectivity,” said CCA President Steve Berry: “I encourage policymakers to build on lessons learned from previous generations of wireless deployment and take immediate steps to allocate a sufficient budget for 5G support.”