The FCC under Chairman Tom Wheeler has been remarkably quick and responsive on making spectrum available for 5G, a differentiator that will make the U.S. the global leader in deployment, 5G advocates said Thursday during Information Technology and Innovation Foundation panel. "The U.S. is going to lead because of the FCC," said Peter Pitsch, Intel executive director-communications policy. He said South Korea, Japan and China are considering 5G trials because they and other nations are "looking at the fact the commission is moving so quickly on allocation and assignment." Qualcomm Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Dean Brenner, pointing to recent speeches by Wheeler (see 1606200044) and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly (see 1606270082), said the agency's consensus on 5G is notable "in an era when everything is partisan."

The FCC under Chairman Tom Wheeler has been remarkably quick and responsive on making spectrum available for 5G, a differentiator that will make the U.S. the global leader in deployment, 5G advocates said Thursday during Information Technology and Innovation Foundation panel. "The U.S. is going to lead because of the FCC," said Peter Pitsch, Intel executive director-communications policy. He said South Korea, Japan and China are considering 5G trials because they and other nations are "looking at the fact the commission is moving so quickly on allocation and assignment." Qualcomm Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Dean Brenner, pointing to recent speeches by Wheeler (see 1606200044) and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly (see 1606270082), said the agency's consensus on 5G is notable "in an era when everything is partisan."

There's an "obsession around the issue of privacy" that has sometimes "derailed" efforts to use data to address critical issues such as combating child abuse, improving education and life-saving medical research, said a panelist during a George Mason University School of Law discussion on the use of big data. Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said that "too often we're worried about too much data being collected about individuals" when instead people should be asking if there are some communities where not enough data -- or not enough good quality data -- is being collected. Others said scrutiny was warranted.

There's an "obsession around the issue of privacy" that has sometimes "derailed" efforts to use data to address critical issues such as combating child abuse, improving education and life-saving medical research, said a panelist during a George Mason University School of Law discussion on the use of big data. Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said that "too often we're worried about too much data being collected about individuals" when instead people should be asking if there are some communities where not enough data -- or not enough good quality data -- is being collected. Others said scrutiny was warranted.

The danger that zero-rating services provide an incomplete online experience is outweighed by the digital divide-bridging benefits enjoyed by low-income households and people of color from that free data, said the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council Monday as MMTC unveiled a white paper. "When you hear people saying free data will create a walled garden, when you don't have grass, a walled garden sounds pretty nice," MMTC President Kim Keenan said during a news conference. "People's budgets are real. For us to act like [that issue] doesn't exist is to shut our eyes that there will be people who can't afford to be part of the digital future."

The danger that zero-rating services provide an incomplete online experience is outweighed by the digital divide-bridging benefits enjoyed by low-income households and people of color from that free data, said the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council Monday as MMTC unveiled a white paper. "When you hear people saying free data will create a walled garden, when you don't have grass, a walled garden sounds pretty nice," MMTC President Kim Keenan said during a news conference. "People's budgets are real. For us to act like [that issue] doesn't exist is to shut our eyes that there will be people who can't afford to be part of the digital future."

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation released a report Monday saying zero rating is in general a good thing. The FCC reportedly is close to making some policy calls on which zero-rated programs are permissible under et neutrality rules (see 1603300032). Free market-oriented ITIF opposes an FCC clamp down on zero-rated programs.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation released a report Monday saying zero rating is in general a good thing. The FCC reportedly is close to making some policy calls on which zero-rated programs are permissible under et neutrality rules (see 1603300032). Free market-oriented ITIF opposes an FCC clamp down on zero-rated programs.

There's reason to be “cautiously optimistic” the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band will be a bigger usage success for the FCC than the TV white spaces have been (see 1605110015), emailed Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “Making 150 MHz available where it is actually needed is huge,” Brake said. “There are a number of countries already using the band abroad, so we have some existing scale to work with. And there is healthy multistakeholder activity. But what deployment actually looks like is an open question. Given the short license terms, widespread investment from operators unfortunately seems out of the question -- the FCC is banking on there being enough momentum for other deployment scenarios. Carrier-neutral models are probably most intriguing, but a lot remains to be seen.” Brake said he's watching closely to see if there are any surprises in who files to be a spectrum access system administrator for the band.

There's reason to be “cautiously optimistic” the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band will be a bigger usage success for the FCC than the TV white spaces have been (see 1605110015), emailed Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “Making 150 MHz available where it is actually needed is huge,” Brake said. “There are a number of countries already using the band abroad, so we have some existing scale to work with. And there is healthy multistakeholder activity. But what deployment actually looks like is an open question. Given the short license terms, widespread investment from operators unfortunately seems out of the question -- the FCC is banking on there being enough momentum for other deployment scenarios. Carrier-neutral models are probably most intriguing, but a lot remains to be seen.” Brake said he's watching closely to see if there are any surprises in who files to be a spectrum access system administrator for the band.