It’s hard to imagine life in D.C. without a smartphone. We depend on smartphones to track the latest political news, stay in touch with our busy families and navigate downtown traffic. Apps such as ParkMobile help us avoid those pesky parking tickets. And living without a car has become all the easier thanks to services such as Uber and Lyft and scooter apps such as Bird and Lime.
Now, with the introduction of 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity, our mobile universe is about to expand in ways unimaginable 10 years ago. The District Department of Transportation is considering guidelines that would facilitate the introduction of 5G throughout the city, transforming the way our city works, commutes, and lives.
5G will be the platform for tomorrow’s innovation, offering speeds 100 times faster and five times more responsive than today’s networks. To give you an idea of how fast it will be: Today it takes around six minutes to download a two-hour movie. With 5G, that download will take just four seconds. And, in D.C. alone, analysts estimate 5G will create more than 6,500 new jobs and increase our city’s gross domestic product by more than $1 billion over five years.
These lightning-fast Internet speeds will do more than just get us the movies we want to see. They’ll form the backbone of the “Internet of Things.” With 5G, virtually anything will be able to connect to and be powered by the Internet — your car, your home, your office, and even your doctors.
That means less time wasted in Beltway traffic and more time spent with families and friends, thanks to smart roads and cities. That means more energy-efficient homes and apartments thanks to smart home technology. And that means greater access to critical healthcare services thanks to the growing field of digital health technologies and telehealth services.
These innovations are right around the corner, as soon as we get the necessary infrastructure in place. 5G depends in large part on small-cell infrastructure. About as big as a pizza box, these cells can be placed on existing buildings, light poles, and other structures. They’re small, easy to install, and won’t disrupt daily activity in the city or do damage to its historic architecture and design.
We’re now in a global race to 5G, competing with China and South Korea to be the first to successfully roll out the technology on a national scale. And we stand to gain three million jobs and grow our economy by $500 billion, if we win.
In the meantime, our nation’s capital is a great place to bring these new possibilities to life. Amazon’s arrival in National Landing will bring new jobs and new residents to the area. Laying small-cell infrastructure will help us streamline transportation and other critical services to meet the growing demand for them. More, it will help distinguish our capital city as a leader in accessibility, sustainability, and innovation.
Washington is an iconic global city, a powerful symbol of the promise and potential of American democracy. It’s only fitting that we lead the way in implementing a new technology that, through the power of connectivity, will increase opportunities for everyone. And 5G will allow greater Internet access for those who rely on smartphones and other wireless devices for high-speed Internet access.
But we need Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. council members to support 5G’s rollout. All Washingtonians should write, call, or tweet to encourage our leaders to support this promising technology.
Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,200 consumer technology companies, and a New York Times best-selling author. He is the author of the new book, Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation.
