President Trump’s first administration gave America a major Wi-Fi advantage. In a new Washington Times op-ed, NCTA President & CEO Cory Gardner calls the FCC’s 2020 decision to open new spectrum for unlicensed use one of Trump’s greatest achievements, a move that supercharged Wi-Fi.
Today, manufacturers ship more than 1 billion Wi-Fi devices worldwide each year, and Wi-Fi will be central to how Americans use AI.
But China wants this spectrum reserved for licensed use by government-approved companies, an approach that favors its state-owned enterprises. Beijing has pushed countries worldwide to reject the U.S. model, and some have gone along.
Some groups at home also want the FCC to reverse or water down its 2020 decision, which would jeopardize billions in U.S. investment and American jobs. “Any change would tilt the playing field away from America and toward China,” Gardner warns.
With the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference in Shanghai approaching, Gardner urges the Trump administration to stand strong in defending America’s Wi-Fi advantage.
Unlicensed spectrum lets families, small businesses, schools and startups put Wi-Fi to work wherever it’s needed. “With unlicensed spectrum, no one needs to ask permission to use it,” Gardner writes. That freedom built the platform for smartphones and streaming, and today it’s fueling robotics, wearables and AI.
Rather than turning back the clock, Gardner concludes, the U.S. should make even more spectrum available for unlicensed use.
