Making Spectrum Available and Simplifying Regulation Key to 5G: Carr

MWC kicked off Monday in Barcelona, and early speakers emphasized the need to simplify regulation. “We’re pushing hard for more spectrum,” Carr said. “We’re pushing hard to simplify and deregulate.”

Rather than deregulation, “the term of the day is simplicity,” Carr said. “Capital doesn’t have to be invested. Risks don’t have to be taken. The more difficult we make it for broadband providers and technology companies to invest and build in our markets, the less likely they’re going to be to do it.” He added: “We still have a lot of state and local rules in place that make it difficult to build new networks.”

Carr signaled that the FCC is open to industry consolidation. “To compete in the network world, we have to create the incentives for carriers to amass the size necessary to actually compete at scale.” He noted T-Mobile’s purchase of Sprint, combining what were then the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers, approved during President Donald Trump's first administration. Since that deal was approved, “we have seen investments increase, we’ve seen speeds increase, we’ve seen coverage increase,” he said. “We now have 5G at scale across the country.”

Net neutrality rules that led to the return of Title II regulation of ISPs, approved under President Joe Biden's administration, are dead and won’t come back, Carr said. “Thankfully, in America … heavy-handed regulation is at an end, and it’s a good thing.” An aggressive version of net neutrality could preclude 5G network slicing, he said. “It’s that type of permissionless innovation that heavy-handed regulation can get in the way of."

The U.S. plans to lead the world on AI, Carr said. “We want an open system that is available for all countries” without “ideological bias.”

Carr also mentioned his opposition to rules imposed under the EU’s Digital Services Act, noting the letters he sent to U.S. tech companies last week (see 2502270055). Potential “censorship” under the act is “incompatible” with free speech and “the commitments that these technology companies have made to a diversity of opinions,” he said. Carr added that he wants to discover a way these companies “can find a path forward that works for them so they don’t get excessively fined [for] doing business here and in Europe.” The Trump administration will insist on “a level and fair playing field."

Last year, mobile technologies and services contributed 5.8%, or $6 trillion, to the world economy, said John Giusti, GSMA chief regulatory officer. “As 5G continues to advance,” with AI and cloud services “opening up new opportunities, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in time where striking the right balance in digital and telecom policy has never been more challenging.”

Telecom networks have long been regulated “to foster competition, to protect consumers [and] to otherwise address the various government policy objectives of the markets in which we operate,” Giusti said. But the rapid advancements in technology “have made it more and more difficult for policymakers to keep up,” he said. “As an industry, we see too often heavy or outdated regulation that can slow progress.”

Marc Murtra, CEO of Spanish carrier Telefonica, complained about European regulation, saying it was time that major European telecom companies “be allowed to consolidate and grow.” The world has entered a new era where “titanic” tech companies are “sharply driving change,” he said: “These giants work as dominators in nearly monopoly markets, have deep knowledge and are more capable than they were 20 years ago.”

A few tech companies “are able to intelligently invest huge amounts of capital to dive deep into disruptive technologies with counterintuitive know-how,” and all are based in the U.S. and China, Murtra said. “Excessive” regulations and “insufficient returns” are weighing down European companies, and the continent is “falling behind” on technology, he warned. “This has not happened in ... the U.S., the Middle East or Asia.”

View From the EU

The EU set a target of covering all consumers with fiber and 5G by 2030, said Teresa Ribera, European Commission executive vice president for a clean, just and competitive transition. Meeting that goal will require investments of more than 200 billion euros, “but it’s an investment we must make for Europe’s future economic growth and global competitiveness.”

The EC is encouraging investments in the digital economy and also recognizes the need to simplify regulation, Ribera said. “To fully unlock the potential of the digital single market, we must rethink our regulatory framework -- simplifying, cutting red tape, reserving competition while ensuring a playing field.”

Spectrum is “a key driver” for deploying networks and shaping markets, and the EC wants to “foster a more integrated single market through more coordinated EU spectrum policy and governance,” Ribera said. “I do not need to tell you that spectrum availability is crucial.” Europe also recognizes that AI will “transform” many sectors of the economy and is already being used in 5G, but it will be an important part of 6G, she added.

Ukraine remains a top priority of the EU, Ribera said, adding that it will continue supporting the country "by ensuring connectivity” and “rebuilding telecom infrastructure.”

Jyotiraditya Scindia, India’s minister of communications, said providers have greater responsibilities than helping people communicate. They also must be “enabler[s]” of change and inclusivity. The COVID era accelerated change, he said. “Change that would probably take decades was completed in a couple of years."

Scindia said India is keeping up with the world, having the fastest 5G deployment of any nation. The network was deployed in 21 months and covers 82% of the population, he said. India is also home to 1.2 billion mobile subscribers, with 971 million internet users, and produces hundreds of millions of wireless phones, he noted.