Thirty trillion dollars of national debt and counting. To fix this problem, we need to either shrink the government or raise revenue, or do some of both. Luckily, the federal government is sitting on a resource worth tens of billions of dollars. Put simply, Congress should again auction off wireless spectrum for 5G.
U.S. NATIONAL DEBT SURPASSES $31 TRILLION FOR FIRST TIME
Wireless spectrum involves the frequency range that allows technology such as radio and Wi-Fi to work. Certain parts of the wireless spectrum, most commonly known as midband spectrum, have allowed the creation of 5G networks, an advancement boasted by every major wireless carrier. These wireless carriers recently paid $80 billion to the federal government to acquire spectrum to build out their 5G networks. Yet, demand for 5G continues to increase, and carriers are hungry to spend big money to acquire more spectrum.
Currently, the federal government controls over 12 times the amount of spectrum that has been purchased for exclusive use by the private sector, according to a report from the wireless industry. One example is the 5.9 GHz spectrum the Department of Transportation has had for over two decades to allow vehicles to communicate with each other. Today, the spectrum is hardly used, and not for autonomous vehicles. Spectrum is too valuable to sit idle in government hands.
By reducing its holdings and auctioning spectrum off to the highest bidder, the government could generate much-needed revenue. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it will encourage innovation and help expand high-speed internet access to rural America.
Both federal and state governments are already spending billions of dollars to address the gap of high-speed internet access in rural areas. More robust 5G networks can address these issues by providing an alternative to fiber in the ground to provide internet to homes and businesses. Ultra-high-speed wireless internet is also crucial to keep America in the lead on augmented and virtual reality technology or the metaverse, which have the potential to become a world-changing industry.
Opportunities such as these for the government to shrink itself voluntarily while making money and stimulating innovation are few and far between. This option would allow Congress to actually pay for some of its lavish spending today while simultaneously growing the economy.
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Eric Peterson is a resident of New Orleans and a contributor to Young Voices.
