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23 September 2024

Forging the 5G future: Strategic imperatives for the US and its allies

Ngor Luong

Strategic context

The fifth generation (5G) of mobile and cellular networks is a transformative technology crucial for improving digital connectivity for enhanced efficiency and productivity in both commercial sectors and military applications. 5G offers an improvement in data speed, volume, and latency over fourth-generation (4G and 4G LTE) networks.1 With improved wireless connectivity, 5G can unlock new capabilities that support enhancements to a variety of industries and sectors including autonomous vehicles, advanced robotics, and smart agriculture, among others.2 These new connective capabilities offer improvements within military operations including essential intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems and streamline command and control (C2) in military operations.3

Historically, the United States has been a leader in the telecommunication industry. Thanks to government support for innovation in the private sector, the United States was dominant in earlier generations of mobile and cellular networks. In 1913, the government reached an agreement with AT&T, allowing the company to monopolize but operate as a public utility by providing phone services to the majority of Americans.4 As a result, Bell Labs, the research and development (R&D) arm of Bell System, bolstered its innovation in the telecommunication industry, developing critical technologies such as transistors, satellite communications, lasers, communications theory, and cellular communications.5 Private sector innovation, exemplified by Bell Labs, and a variety of innovation policies had enabled the U.S. to surpass Japan in 3G leadership by 2009 and dominate 4G hardware and software since.6

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