WASHINGTON — 

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today discussed the state of 5G technology with a panel of experts at a full Commerce Committee hearing entitled, “Winning the Race to 5G and the Next Era of Technology Innovation in the United States.”

“This is an issue of enormous consequence, I believe, to our global competitiveness, our economy, and the country that embraces and gets ahead and wins the race on 5G. I think [the United States] is going to benefit enormously from the economic dividends that come with that,” said Thune.

During the 114^th and 115^th Congresses, Thune served as chairman of the full committee and authored the MOBILE NOW Act, a law that will boost the development of next-generation gigabit wireless broadband services, including 5G, by ensuring more spectrum is made available for commercial use and by reducing the red tape associated with building broadband networks.

Last Congress, Thune introduced the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act, legislation that would update the Communications Act to better reflect developing technology and facilitate the rapid deployment of 5G networks to meet consumer demand by setting reasonable standards for public review of infrastructure siting while recognizing the unique challenges for small municipalities.