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<\/a><\/p>\nBrian Heater
\nTC<\/p>\n
In a press conference today in the White House\u2019s Roosevelt Room, the president laid out a number of initiatives focused on helping accelerate the U.S. role in the 5G race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is, to me, the future,\u201d Trump said, opening the press conference flanked by\u00a0Ajit Pai,\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Ivanka Trump and a room full of communications representatives in cowboy and hard hats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about 5G now,\u201d Trump told the audience. \u201cWe were 4G and everyone was saying we had to get 4G, and then they said before that, \u2018we have to get 3G,\u2019 and now we have to get 5G. And 5G\u2019s a big deal and that\u2019s going to be there for a while. And at some point we\u2019ll be talking about number six.\u201d<\/p>\n The apparently off-script moment echoed Trump\u2019s\u00a0recent call on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0for the U.S. to get 6G technology \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d There\u2019s something to be said for the spirit, perhaps, but it\u2019s probably a little soon to be jumping the gun on a technology that doesn\u2019t really exist just yet.<\/p>\n Trump used the opportunity to downplay earlier rumors that the government\u00a0might be building its own 5G network,<\/a>\u00a0instead promoting a free-market method, while taking a shot at the government\u2019s capabilities. \u201cIn the United States, our approach is private sector-driven and private sector-led,\u201d he added. \u201cThe government doesn\u2019t have to spend lots of money.\u201d<\/p>\n