The US government is considering a federal takeover of portions of the country’s mobile broadband networks, according to documents obtained by Axios.
A National Security Council official presented senior members of the Trump administration and other agencies with information suggesting that the United States needs to centralize its 5G network by the end of President Donald Trump’s first term as a safeguard against Chinese cybersecurity and economic threats, according to the documents.
In a PowerPoint presentation and memo obtained by Axios, two options were suggested: have the American government pay for and build a network, or have wireless providers build their own 5G networks.
Government control of 5G infrastructure would be unprecedented. The memo Axios obtained compared the nationalization of 5G to “the 21st century equivalent of the Eisenhower National Highway System.”