Trump Considering a Nationwide Centralized 5G Network: What Could That Mean for Privacy?

Trump may be considering a "federal takeover" of part of the nation's mobile network by creating a nationwide, centralized 5G network, Axios just reported today. The article says that Trump wants to do this in order to guard against China. He would like to create the network within the next three years.

Axios published a Powerpoint deck and memo that they say were given to them by an unnamed official. You can read them here by just scrolling down to the bottom of the article. A source told Axios the following:

• This would likely be a single, centralized 5G network, likely built and paid for by the U.S. government.
• Another option would have carriers work together to build one network together.
• The memo says this has to be done because China has a dominant position right now and "China is the dominant malicious actor in the Information Domain."
• The government might build the network and then rent access to carriers like AT&T.

I'll just quote this part from Axios' article: "The federal government would also, according to the memo, be able to use the banner of national security to create a federal process for installing the wireless equipment, preventing states and cities from having their own rules for where the equipment could go."

Of course, a wise person should keep a few things in mind. This is from an anonymous official. So we don't know how reliable that is, how recent the information is, or how interested the administration still is in going down this route.

This isn't, however, the first mention of Trump's goals for 5G. Just a couple days ago, The Washington Examiner wrote about Trump's 5G network goal. And in December, Trump released a national security strategy for protecting Americans, and this included findings ways to "improve America's digital infrastructure by deploying a secure 5G Internet capability nationwide." The mention is here in this memo on Page 19. That mention by itself makes the Axios article seem more likely to be accurate. (But still, I wouldn't say that 100 percent. It's always best to stay a little skeptical.)

Back in June, Fortune reported that Trump was meeting with AT&T, Verizon, and GE execs to talk about 5G (and drones).

It's only fair to mention that Trump's not the only President to express interest in 5G, and providing incentives for 5G isn't a disturbing concept. Obama did too. In July 2016, Obama announced a $400 million initiative to boost research for next-gen mobile networks, including four cities to serve as testing grounds for 5G. At that time, however, it was presented as a "5G-focused public private partnership entity." That's a little different than a completely nationalized 5G network, however.

So my question to you is: How do you feel about the federal government creating a centralized, nationwide 5G network? What effect do you think this would have on our privacy? Are you bothered by this or do you not think it's a big deal? Would love to read your thoughts and comments.

(Photo above: Public domain, distributed via WhiteHouse.gov)