White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the Trump administration opposes government intervention in the deployment of next-generation wireless networks known as 5G.
Kudlow, speaking at a wireless trade group event, promoted the administration's position that the private sector should drive 5G deployment, the Hill.com reported.
There are high stakes in the battle for supremacy over an industry that is expected to spend $275 billion over seven years in the United States alone, according to Accenture estimates, Reuters has reported.
The winner is seen playing a central role in helping to generate some $12.3 trillion in annual revenue across a broad range of industries by 2035, according to IHS Markit.
The technology, which can provide data speeds at least 20 times faster than 4G, will also underpin the great advances of the next era, from self-driving cars and augmented reality to smart cities and artificial intelligence.
"I don't want the government to run this," the veteran financial guru and former Ronald Reagan adviser said at an event hosted by CTIA in Washington, D.C.
Kudlow's remarks on Thursday largely served as an assurance that the Trump administration still believes industry should lead the deployment of U.S. 5G, the Hill reported.
"We should stay on the free-market track," said Kudlow, who worked as Reagan’s budget deputy between 1981 and 1985. "We want as much entrepreneurship as possible. We want to make sure the door is open for American companies and related suppliers," said Kudlow, who served as the Trump campaign's senior economic adviser.
"There will be a national security piece, without question, but it seems to me the way we’re doing things is the right way and we’ll continue that," said the head of the National Economic Council that advises Trump.
"The private sector will figure things out far better than the government sector. You’re far ahead of us, you always are," Kudlow said.
Earlier this year, Trump called on U.S. telecommunications companies to boost their work to build faster 5G wireless communications networks, saying they were lagging and at risk of being left behind other countries’ efforts, Reuters reported.
"I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind," Trump wrote.
"There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future," he continued. "I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology," he added, although he did not explain what blockage the president was referring to.
Representatives for the White House could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Trump administration has been seeking ways to speed the deployment of faster wireless communications systems that could help a number of industries.