The economic impacts of reallocating low-band spectrum to 5G in the United States

The next generation of wireless technology (5G) represents a significant leap forward in mobile communications, promising substantial increases in data speed, service quality, and network capacity. This new technology will rely on a much wider range of spectrum than current 4G LTE networks. To achieve this significant leap forward, two things need to happen: policymakers must reallocate spectrum for 5G uses and service providers will need to continue to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new infrastructure.

This study examines the economic impacts of reallocating 100 MHz of licensed low-band spectrum for 5G networks. We conclude that wireless providers will invest approximately $24 billion to deliver 5G services over newly acquired low-band spectrum. The investment in infrastructure for the new spectrum will result in approximately:

• $42 billion in additional GDP.
• 206,000 new jobs, accounting for both direct and spillover effects.