Media Contact:
Benjamin Arden, (202) 418-0288 
benjamin.arden@fcc.gov 
 
For Immediate Release






Carr Announces Plan to Extend U.S. Leadership in 5G
His 5G Agenda Includes a Spectrum Roadmap and Additional Infrastructure Reforms

WASHINGTON, DC, March 15, 2021—Today, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr detailed his plan to extend U.S. leadership in 5G at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute.  

“Securing U.S. leadership in 5G is one of the great success stories of the past four years,” Commissioner Carr stated.  “Yet back in 2016, we were at serious risk of ceding U.S. leadership in 5G to our overseas competitors—and that would have included millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth.”

“So in 2017, the FCC put a plan in place to turn things around,” Carr said.  “I am proud of the results our reforms helped deliver—including accelerating new tower builds from just 708 in 2016 to over 46,000 in 2019 alone.  Now is the time to build on these accomplishments.  That is why I am providing a roadmap today that will allow us to do just that,” Carr added.

Highlights of Carr’s plan, which is available in full here, include:

· On the spectrum front in 2021:
o Auction 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.45 GHz band at 5G power levels
o Auction the 100+ MHz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band
o Adopt an order that permits very low power devices to operate in the 6 GHz band
o Seek comment on increasing the power levels for CBRS operations in the 3.5 GHz band 
 
· And for 2022 and beyond:
o Auction the 50 MHz of spectrum between 1300-1350 MHz in 2022
o Auction another millimeter wave band in 2022, with the 42 GHz as a prime candidate
o Auction spectrum in the lower 3 GHz, 4.8 GHz, and 7 GHz bands after 2022

· On infrastructure and policy:
o Produce targeted broadband maps by this fall, not next year
o Start the 5G Fund auction early next year to support rural builds
o Create a Federal Lands Desk at the FCC to address permitting delays on federal lands
o Act on pending infrastructure reforms to drive down the costs of reaching rural areas 
o Expand the tower crews needed to complete 5G builds through Carr’s 5G jobs initiative
o Reject heavy-handed policies that would turn back the clock on the progress we’ve made

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Office of Commissioner Brendan Carr: (202) 418-2200
www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/brendan-carr