Fifth-Generation a Game Changer for IoT, Pai Aide Says
Nick Degani, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said Pai is dead set on digital inclusion and bridging the digital divide. Pai has seen the problem firsthand, Degani told the University of Mississippi Tech Summit Wednesday, according to written remarks.…
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“I don’t mean jet-setting to major technology hubs like Silicon Valley or Boston,” he said. “I’m talking about road trips to visit the people and places we seldom associate with the digital revolution, such as Dillon, Nebraska, and Minneola, Minnesota.” Pai believes overregulation is part of the problem, Degani said. The move to 5G is a big deal for the wireless industry, he said. “Clearing the regulatory underbrush could remove a lot of delays and higher costs as 5G rolls out.” Fifth-generation will be a game changer, he promised: “5G promises exponential growth in the Internet of Things, major advances in augmented and virtual reality, cooperative collision avoidance for cars, remote robotic surgery. And those are just the things we can already foresee.” To "promote digital inclusion, the biggest mechanism in the FCC’s proverbial toolkit would be our universal service programs," he said, saying USF invested $180 million last year in Mississippi. Experts agree it will take more government and industry coordination to further narrow the digital gap between rich and poor (see 1708220036).