Thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs? Our relationship with Communist China is again receiving the tiny bit of scrutiny that passes for Communist China-relationship scrutiny.
As always, the relationship deserves MUCH more scrutiny than it gets.
The last time the China relationship received a little scrutiny? Was in 2020 when the China Virus reminded US that we rely WAY too much on China for the manufacture of…well, pretty much everything that really matters. And a whole lot of stuff that really doesn’t.
Hence (as but one reason) the Trump tariffs. To try to make us even a little less reliant on China. And how pathetic is DC that it took five years (really, fifty) – and an anti-DC outsider president – to FINALLY begin to address this?
In response to Trump’s tariffs imposed (in part) to offset China using subsidies and slave labor to flood US with anti-free market, artificially cheap stuff? China is ramping up its use of subsidies and slave labor to increase its US flood of anti-free market, artificially cheap stuff.
Of course, China’s horrendous dominance of US is all-encompassing. Yet another vital aspect of US national life they dominate? All things tech.
Last week DC pretended to care what a Meta (Facebook) whistleblower had to say about the company’s total sell out to China. Sarah Wynn-Williams was once Facebook’s director of global public policy. Now she’s detailing how Facebook sold out US national security and her citizens to China. Including in testimony before Congress. Testimony which she says Facebook vehemently tried to prevent her giving.
How do we know DC is only pretending to care? Because we have time and again had whistleblowers out Big Tech’s sell out to China. And DC has time and again done nothing at all about any of it.
Which makes me wonder about DC’s inaction and bizarre action in another tech area. Which also benefits China and harms the US.
Behold the Global Spectrum Race. As with most things “Global” these days? It is really a race between but two nations: US and China.
Spectrum is the airwaves we use for everything wireless. From your smart phone all the way down to your car key fob. Spectrum is a finite resource. And not all of it is created equal.
Think of a Monopoly board. Some spectrum is Boardwalk and Park Place. Some is Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues. And many gradations in between.
About 60% of US spectrum is owned by the federal government. Much of it of high and very high quality. And shocker: They aren’t using it very wisely or well.
What needs to happen? The government needs to consolidate its use of the spectrum it has. Thereby clearing much of it. And then the government needs to make the cleared spectrum available to the private sector.
Except the government has spent decades dragging its feet on all of this. Leaving the private sector to wring as much use as possible out their 40% of spectrum. While they anxiously await DC getting its act together.
The way DC makes its spectrum available to the private sector? Is via auctions. Except the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s auction authority expired in March 2023. About which Congress has since done…nothing.
So even if the government was making spectrum available? There’d be no way for the government to sell it to the private sector.
(Except: Why does the FCC need Congressional permission to conduct the auctions? Just conduct the auctions.)
Right now, the spectrum focus (such as it is) is upon what is known as the mid-band. Because the government owns a lot of it. And it’s highly useful for and by the private sector.
Which brings us to the China problem.
There are two main ways the government issues spectrum: Licensed and unlicensed.
Unlicensed is a sort of spectrum collectivism. It’s a multi-user format. A free-for-all. Of course, unlicensed is highly useful in many ways.
But not with the Global Spectrum Race. And therefore not with the China problem.
You’ve heard of 5G, yes? That is short for Fifth Generation. As in the fifth wireless network thus far developed.
Except 5G hasn’t yet reached fully “developed.” The first country to fully develop it? Gets to set the global standards for the network. Again, that “global” race is really just between China and US. And won’t it be great if it’s China setting the standards?
Wireless networks require licensed spectrum. Unlicensed is utterly unhelpful. And since we’re all fixated upon the mid-band spectrum? Let’s examine how it is currently allocated.
Spectrum is measured in megahertz (MHz). The mid-band spectrum total is 5,745 MHz. The federal government still holds 3,390 MHz (59%). The remaining 2,355 MHz (41%) has been allocated to the private sector.
Except 1,905 MHz of it has been allocated to China-unhelpful unlicensed. A whopping 81%. Only 450 MHz (19%) has been licensed.
Again: Only licensed helps us in the Global Spectrum Race with China.
So I am left to wonder:
Why is DC so doggedly dragging its feet on making more spectrum available to the private sector?
And why is DC making so little of what little they’ve made available? Useful in helping US beat China to 5G?
A few DC whistleblowers would likely be inordinately helpful in answering those questions….