Hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Thune, Hearing on The Race to 5G: A View from the Field

Hearing

Good afternoon.

Today, I've convened this hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee to explore ways to maintain global leadership in the race to 5G, while ensuring the benefits of remarkable new wireless technologies reach rural America.

Over the past two years, I have convened several hearings in Washington D.C. aimed at identifying barriers to the deployment of next generation services and what we can do in Congress to help lower them.

I am pleased that today, we will be able to discuss these very important issues here in South Dakota.

We've heard from stakeholders throughout the country who represent American businesses that are on the ground building and maintaining our communications networks, deploying the infrastructure, and bringing to market cutting edge technologies like autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, and remote health care services that will transform our everyday lives.

We have also heard from the community and tribal leaders, small businesses, hospitals, schools, and everyday Americans that will benefit from this important technology.

The race to 5G has begun and the United States has the technology to win it.

But as I've said before, technology is only part of the equation.

We must ensure that wireless providers have spectrum on which their systems can operate and they must be able to deploy those networks in a reasonable and timely manner.

The MOBILE NOW Act, my legislation which was enacted earlier this year, addressed both spectrum and infrastructure needs. But more work needs to be done.

In July, the Committee examined ways to free up more spectrum for 5G.

I'm pleased to see the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are taking critical steps this year to make more spectrum available for wireless use.

And our Committee will continue to encourage innovative approaches to using spectrum more efficiently.

Indeed, spectrum is critical to winning the race to 5G, but removing barriers to infrastructure deployment is the final piece of the puzzle.

Earlier this year, I introduced the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act on a bipartisan basis with Senator Schatz.

The STREAMLINE Act reflects more than a year of hard work with stakeholders -- including many here today -- to eliminate needless barriers to deploying 5G and to bring the benefits to American consumers.

In fact, just last week, we received a letter of support for the STREAMLINE Act signed by 25 groups representing a range of stakeholders from health care to agriculture, the automotive and manufacturing industries, internet companies, consumer technologies, and more.

I am confident that our legislation will allow Americans across the country, no matter where they live, the ability to reap the benefits of 5G leadership while at the same time respecting the important role State and local governments play in deployment decisions.

Additionally, I am very pleased that the FCC, as part of an effort led by Commissioner Carr, has just taken an important step to modernize its siting rules consistent with the goals of the STREAMLINE Act.

As Mayor TenHaken knows, making infrastructure siting easier is particularly important for those of us in rural America, where the business case for deployment is different than in larger metropolitan areas.

Lowering deployment costs is especially important in more rural communities, where we simply don't have the population density to justify deployment if barriers are high.

Excessive fees, delays, and uncertainty can ruin the case for deployment of 5G in a community.

I am proud that our home state of South Dakota is leading the way in 5G.

Dr. Griffiths and Dakota State University are training the young men and women who will design and protect our 5G networks and the services they will offer.

Mayor TenHaken and Commissioner Carr are leading the way with their work to establish rules and policies that encourage 5G deployment.

And Justin Forde from Midco, Mark Shlanta from SDN Communications, and Robert Fisher from Verizon are working to deploy the 5G networks and related infrastructure that will bring South Dakota the next generation of wireless communications.

I thank all of you for being here, and I look forward to hearing from you today.

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