Randall Stephenson expects "rapid deployment of 5G wireless technology in rural areas." WTF?
Virtually certain: Almost no deployment of 5G highband to rural areas anytime soon. The CEO of AT&T personally came to D.C. to make an absurd argument for protecting very high pricing for rural backhaul, absolutely the right policy choice.
He told Commissioner Mignon Clyburn "the decision to regulate prices for business data services (“BDS”), particularly fiber-based BDS, will deter incentives for the rapid deployment of 5G wireless technology in rural America."
Everyone knows that AT&T is not going to deploy meaningful amounts of 5G wireless technology in rural America for at least a decade and probably longer. Millimeter wave has a very short reach. Verizon is hoping to get 500 feet. That means an enormous number of cells are required, literally millions for a wide U.S. rollout. It's a sure money loser for a very long time except in dense areas.