5G Wireless: Capabilities and Challenges for an Evolving Network

Spectrum-sharing technologies (report p. 47)

Policymakers could support research and development of spectrum sharing technologies.

• Could allow for more efficient use of the limited spectrum available for 5G and future generations of wireless networks.
• It may be possible to leverage existing 5G testbeds for testing the spectrum sharing technologies developed through applied research.

• Research and development is costly, must be coordinated and administered, and its potential benefits are uncertain. Identifying a funding source, setting up the funding mechanism, or determining which existing funding streams to reallocate will require detailed analysis.

Coordinated cybersecurity monitoring (report p. 48)

Policymakers could support nationwide, coordinated cybersecurity monitoring of 5G networks.

• A coordinated monitoring program would help ensure the entire wireless ecosystem stays knowledgeable about evolving threats, in close to real time; identify cybersecurity risks; and allow stakeholders to act rapidly in response to emerging threats or actual network attacks.

• Carriers may not be comfortable reporting incidents or vulnerabilities, and determinations would need to be made about what information is disclosed and how the information will be used and reported.

Cybersecurity requirements (report p. 49)

Policymakers could adopt cybersecurity requirements for 5G networks.

• Taking these steps could produce a more secure network. Without a baseline set of security requirements the implementation of network security practices is likely to be piecemeal and inconsistent.
• Using existing protocols or best practices may decrease the time and cost of developing and implementing requirements.

• Adopting network security requirements would be challenging, in part because defining and implementing the requirements would have to be done on an application-specific basis rather than as a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Designing a system to certify network components would be costly and would require a centralized entity, be it industry-led or government-led.

Privacy practices (report p. 50)

Policymakers could adopt uniform practices for 5G user data.

• Development and adoption of uniform privacy practices would benefit from existing privacy practices that have been implemented by states, other countries, or that have been developed by federal agencies or other organizations.

• Privacy practices come with costs, and policymakers would need to balance the need for privacy with the direct and indirect costs of implementing privacy requirements. Imposing requirements can be burdensome, especially for smaller entities.

High-band research (report p. 51)

Policymakers could promote R&D for high-band technology.

• Could result in improved statistical modeling of antenna characteristics and more accurately representing propagation characteristics.
• Could result in improved understanding of any possible health effects from long-term radio frequency exposure to high-band emissions.

• Research and development is costly and must be coordinated and administered, and its potential benefits are uncertain. Policymakers will need to identify a funding source or determine which existing funding streams to reallocate.

• Some challenges described in this report may be addressed through current efforts.

• Some challenges described in this report may remain unresolved, be exacerbated, or take longer to resolve than with intervention.