In a bipartisan effort to protect the nation’s future broadband networks, the Senate recently passed the aptly short titled “Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020.”
It “require(s) the President to develop a strategy to ensure the security of the next generation mobile telecommunications systems and infrastructure in the United States.” The act further requires the U.S. to “assist allies and strategic partners in maximizing the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems, infrastructure, and software.”
Specifically, this act directs the president to create an inter-agency strategy, with the NTIA implementing a plan in coordination with the FCC, Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretaries of State and Defense. The plan precludes any “recommendation to nationalize 5G deployment or future generations of mobile telecommunication infrastructure,” according to the plan’s authors.
Those authors include Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Mark Warner (D-VA). In a joint statement, each of the three lawmakers spoke of the importance of these networks, their complexity, and the absolute need to keep them safe and secure.
It is heartening to see Democrats and Republicans agreeing on legislation to help America, and then actually addressing it together, positively and civilly. Now it will be interesting to see if the House of Representatives can get together and act in the same responsible manner.
