From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: 5G Development and Deployment Description: GAO's Andrew Von Ah discusses the arrival of 5G technology--its promises to improve wireless speed and capacity, and concerns that it could increase the digital divide. Related GAO Work: GAO-20-468, 5G Deployment: FCC Needs Comprehensive Strategic Planning to Guide Its Efforts Released: June 2020 [ Music ] [Andrew Von Ah] You know, many parts of the country don't even have 4G service yet. So, those areas will continue to lag behind. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report--your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Holly Hobbs. With so many of us working from home and sharing internet bandwidth, you might be excited to hear about 5G, a new technology that could improve wireless speed and capacity. But with 5G's promises come concerns over its implementation and how it could widen the digital divide. And with me to talk about the development and launch of 5G technology is Andrew Von Ah, a director in our Physical Infrastructure Team. Thank you for joining me, Andrew. [Andrew Von Ah:] Thank you, Holly. I'm happy to be here. [Holly Hobbs:] So, Andrew, what is 5G technology and what might it allow us to do that we can't currently do? [Andrew Von Ah:] So, 5G is really just the next generation of wireless communications technology. It's following on 4G and 3G before it. What differentiates 5G is the use of a combination of low-, mid-, and high-band spectrum radio waves that carry the information wirelessly; and the use of small-cell antennas--this is really for the high-band spectrum--that are more closely spaced together that allow for that greater capacity that those waves can carry. [Holly Hobbs:] It sounds like 5G is something we might physically be able to see? [Andrew Von Ah:] Well, I mean, you'll certainly notice the small-cell antennas. They'll be placed on things like light poles and all around cities, eventually. Some of the uses that frequently get mentioned are things like enhanced telehealth applications or enabling the use of connected vehicles. But really, the use cases or the, you know, so-called killer apps really have yet to be developed--which is, you know, very similar to when 4G was rolled out, as well. You know, in other countries, things like gaming and virtual reality have driven the marketplace and the development of those networks. [Holly Hobbs:] When will most of us see 5G? [Andrew Von Ah:] Well, right now we're seeing the rollout of what we call hybrid 5G. This is where we see 5G technologies kind of working in combination or on top of existing 4G networks. You'll start to see some of those small cells that I've talked about in some areas. Eventually carriers are hoping to develop stand-alone 5G networks. But that's really still several years into the future. So, you're kind of seeing right now the evolution of 4G to 5G. And you know, not all of the latest and greatest phones that we're using are 5G compatible. So, the phone manufacturers will also need to upgrade those phones. So the next couple of generations of phones you'll start to see 5G rollout as well. [Holly Hobbs:] So, who might not see 5G anytime soon? And why? [Andrew Von Ah:] Yeah, and as with kind of broadband infrastructure, generally, more rural and hard-to-reach areas lag behind the rest of the country in terms of getting benefits of that infrastructure. You know, many parts of the country don't even have 4G service yet. So, those areas will continue to lag behind. And with 5G, though, interesting, within urban areas you may see new divides. Because of the high costs associated with rolling out so many small-cell antennas, you have to get fiber and power out to them--likely, you're first going to see this deployed in the more wealthy and commercially-viable areas or urban centers. [ Music ] [Holly Hobbs:] So, it sounds like the development and distribution of 5G might not be smooth or evenly distributed. And this could mean that for some Americans 5G may be a ways away. So, Andrew, what is the federal role in overseeing 5G? And what are federal agencies doing to address the digital divide? [Andrew Von Ah:] Yeah. There's a couple of different roles for the federal government. Primarily, FCC manages spectrum for various uses, including 5G. The other role that FCC plays here it to try to help build out infrastructure to those high-cost and more rural areas. They've recently announced $9 billion being made available really specifically for 5G type of infrastructure. This isn't necessary new money, but it's sort of redirecting that previous support to those rural and high-cost areas for 5G deployment. [Holly Hobbs:] So Andrew, what's the bottom line of your report? [Andrew Von Ah:] The bottom line is, you know, we recognize that the federal government has taken a number of steps to try to free up more spectrum and to direct some funding towards trying to help mitigate that digital divide. But what we found was really that the federal actions were a little bit, you know, not very strategic. There were no goals and measures associated with it. It was hard to know what kind of spectrum do you need available? And how much, you know, do you need? And when will you know you've succeeded in making enough available? And so, we recommended to FCC that they come up with goals and measures associated with spectrum and making spectrum available, as well as goals and measures related to trying to address the digital divide. [Holly Hobbs:] Andrew Von Ah was talking about GAO's review of the development and deployment of 5G technology. Thank you for your time, Andrew. [Andrew Von Ah:] Thank you very much. I appreciate it. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure to leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more on the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.