5G -- It Ain't All That -- 5G Could Actually Make The 'Digital Divide' Worse

[ancianita]

FCC boss Ajit Pai has repeatedly proclaimed that one of his top priorities is closing the "digital divide...most of his policies have had the exact opposite effect. From rubber stamping competition-eroding mergers, to eliminating consumer protections governing broadband, the lion's share of Pai's agenda has focused on what telecom giants want...

[TV ads tell us] ... America will soon be awash in a new layer of inexpensive broadband connectivity and innovation.

The problem: 5G isn't magic, and the technology won't fix the rot that plagues the U.S. broadband sector. It won't fix
-- the fact we approve mergers that directly contribute to higher prices and weaker markets. It won't fix
-- the lack of competition in the fiber lines that feed cellular towers, which also contributes to higher rates. It also won't fix
-- the fact that FCC policy and telecom lobby positions are virtually indistinguishable.

...contrary to carrier claims, you're still going to have patchy availability as carriers focus on the most profitable areas, despite countless billions in taxpayer subsidies.

5G's technical accomplishments don't mean all that much if the underlying structure is rotten, and US telecom is, if you haven't spent time on the phone talking to telecom customer service lately, very rotten indeed.

And in some instances, 5G may actually make the digital divide worse. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance, for example, is correct to note that
-- the low-income families we profess to love can't afford new, far more expensive handsets, or the even higher rates companies like Verizon intend to charge users to access these networks.
-- Telecom giants (and the current FCC) do yeoman's work focusing on unhelpful and silly "race" rhetoric, hoping to steer the conversation away from the subject that matters most to low-income families stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide -- price.

you'll notice [Ajit Pai] will go out of his way to avoid acknowledging high US telecom prices ... because that conversation leads to another conversation these folks really don't want to have: the regulatory capture and lack of competition in U.S. broadband that's causing the problem in the first place.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200204/07071543850/5g-could-actually-make-digital-divide-worse.shtml?fbclid=IwAR3a-5sakFQ7QVH-40CK5ICvCGlkNcK1KC4oCRrPq5QHxXvo7gq_GWs0Hdc

Pricing. Monopolization. Corporate Socialism. That's 5G's platform.

We subsidize global network dominance. So yeah, let's add another reason for the world to distrust, if not hate, us. Our govt (bad cop) be like "resistance is futile." Tech (good cop) be like "look how much better we make life!"

Both on our dime.

https://i.insider.com/5c87ab3526289853a678306d?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp

[Newest Reality]

1. My foray...

Into the pros and cons of 5G revealed that it actually could flop, overall. It is not really the best solution, but revolves more around the concept of the Internet of Things, (next, bodies) and pushing some new technology, (without careful testing and regulation of its effects).

I won't go into details here and will leave that to those with expertise, but there are other alternatives that would have been much better to implement for high speed access for more people. I think 5G is kind of a joke in some ways, too. A little reading will reveal that.

But hey, progress, new, investments, etc. It may be that the ideas are more important than the actual pragmatism and the rush to implement NEW things may bight back more if this keeps up. An impetuous rush to implement things can be brash and reckless when the view is myopic and poorly thought-out in order to increase profits.

[matt819]

2. They have been talking about bridging the digital divide for 20 years

I live in a rural area.

The cable company stops its cable 1 mile from my house.

I get a 3MB line from the phone company to my house for $144 per month. If I were under 18,000 feet from the central office, I'd get double the speed for $31, or 100mbs for $75. But I don't, so I get what I get. Oh, or I can get antiquated and unreliable dsl, a decades-old technology that three phone companies so far have committed to replacing. Bull. If you're rural, you're screwed.

Some would say that that's my choice, one of the prices to pay, so to speak, for living where I do. Maybe, but I call it a digital divide. And no one - repeat, no one - is doing shit to change that. I would put money on the bet that nothing will change in my area in the next 20 years. After that, I won't care, as I'll probably be in the ground.

[ancianita]

5. All that tax subsidy we pay could bridge the digital divide. It's OUR money, and though you're

reasonable, the situation you're in is not. Rural is as American as everywhere else.

This is the capitalist corporate campus treatment we will always, and all, experience, in some form or another, the longer we vote for those who don't care about our taxation without representation.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[Rider3]

3. A Verizon Rep.

...told me that it's just bullshit and that many providers advertise their phones as having 5G when they don't. The U.S. is pushing this because they want to beat China. So, they're throwing us another lie. Just another day....

[ancianita]

6. Sure. Still, we need to spread this information to Americans who trust corporate hype.

We should feel hopeless about it. It doesn't have to be "life."

[HAB911]

4. Well Trump and Barr are about to make us all part owners

in 5G manufacturing, lol

https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/us-should-buy-control-nokia-ericsson-fight-huawei-attorney-general-doc-1or45g3?fbclid=IwAR0RN5u44fczsYEZ82SA35LdQYVyGyT_hOukZyBx-_Q_wcgWxvmGSlCDPiA

[ancianita]

7. It's OUR MONEY. Everything we subsidize makes us part owners.

So when the hell do we get our ROI.

Thank you for this link. Very interesting. It's puzzle parts, but we're getting the picture.

Not only is Barr not an AG of The People. He's the trade fixer for monopolists.

He's the global dominance dude. Probably being groomed for the next Republican presidency after 45's body kills him.

[HAB911]

8. I'm interested how they can sell this to

what is left of the small government crowd. It's straight up socialism.

[ancianita]

9. All they see are 5G ads, so they don't know that.

[burrowowl]

10. Will also screw up weather forecasting