Eavesdropping in Houston
Overheard: Ted Cruz, experts weigh in on why 5G is a game changer for Houston
Last year, Houstonians Clayton and Emily Harris became the first commercial 5G customers. Now, a full year later, the Houston has a major seat at the table that's discussing the advancement of 5G technology.
At a forum on Tuesday, October 1, hosted by CTIA and the Center for Houston's Future, experts discussed Houston's role in the conversation about 5G. Here are some overheards from the morning event.
“We cannot take our leadership in 4G for granted as we transition to 5G.”
— Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz's keynote address warns of the United States resting on its laurels in the race to 5G. While the country had the edge on foreign competition for 4G, that doesn't mean 5G will have the same result, he says. In fact, Cruz cites multiple studies that show China and South Korea lead the race in 5G. Deloitte's research found that China has outspent the U.S. by $24 billion and has built 350,000 new sites, while the U.S. has built fewer than 30,000. The study also showed China is prepared to invest $400 billion. This information aside, Cruz tells the crowd that America has the ability to win the race to 5G.
“I think it’s a wonderful story to see how Texas has been leading the way.”
— Brendan Carr, FCC commissioner. Carr references the Harris family, as well as other Texas cities he's visited that have been working hard to advance 5G. For Carr, expanding and implementing 5G is a huge opportunity for job creation. "The U.S. isn't the only country in the world that wants these jobs," he says to the crowd. "They're not the only country that wants to see the half a trillion dollars in economic growth that's going to come from this next-generation technology."
“I’ll admit, I’m an optimist, but there are significant challenges to making this 5G future a reality.”
— Jesse Bounds, director of innovation for the city of Houston. Bounds cited a few obstacles to overcome. There's a need for massive investment in infrastructure to blanket cities in 5G, and telecom companies are expected to spend $8 billion over the next five years to build this infrastructure, and cities too will need to invest in smart city technology. Consumers will need to pay more for data, and US consumers pay some of the highest rates in the world already. Not to mention the fact that a third of Americans don't have access to home internet. "As we build the infrastructure of the future, we must do so in a way that closes the digital divide so that those Americans can enjoy the same level of opportunity and prosperity that we do," Bounds says.
"Houston’s 5G network performance is 17 times better than the 4G. That’s today, in the very early days of 5G.”
— Paul Challoner, vice president of network product solutions at Ericsson. Challoner tells the crowd that of course this affects speed of data transferring and that is a huge pro for the technology, but there are other important perks for 5G advancement. The tech also affects device density, meaning that, a very large city like Houston, might have issues in dense areas. 5G also improves connectivity in crucial situations, like in the case of a surgeon using a device during surgery. Lastly, Challoner mentioned 5G is the most advanced technology when it comes to cybersecurity.
"One area that I’m most excited about is all the things that we don't talk about. All the applications that haven't yet been imagined, that are being dreamt up by software developers in their dorm rooms."
— Mishka Dehghan, vice president of 5G development at Sprint. Dehghan points out that 10 years ago, no one could have imagined ride sharing, now that is a huge industry with developing technology thanks to mobile data usage. With with the onset of 5G, she says she can't wait to see what technology is created in the next 10 years.