Wireless infrastructure industry trade organization PCIA funded a report put together by Information Age Economics showing that over the next five years private investments in wireless infrastructure will produce up to $1.2 trillion in economic growth and create 1.2 million new jobs. The report comes just ahead of PCIA’s annual trade show set to kick off Oct. 7 in Hollywood, Fla.
The findings of the report, “Wireless broadband infrastructure: a catalyst for GDP and job growth 2013-2017,” were based on $34 billion to $36 billion in expected investment per year over the next five years. According to the predictions, the cumulative economic development tied to the wireless infrastructure market will range from $863 billion to $1.2 trillion, which is a 606% increase over the actual amount of investment; that benefit will induce a 2.2% increase in gross domestic product by 2017; will result in up $87 billion in direct economic growth per year over the next five years; and will create more than 122,000 jobs over the next five years in the wireless infrastructure industry.
More broadly, the report noted that the investment in wireless infrastructure will generate on average 253,120 new jobs per year over the next five years.
“These indirect network benefits, offering improved wireless broadband access and higher data speeds, will lead to a plethora of new business formation, while existing businesses and organizations will reap sizable gains in efficiency,” the report claims, according to PCIA.
PCIA president and CEO Jonathan Adelstein added that for this impact to occur, regulators need to put in place the right set of regulations to ensure the full economic might of the wireless infrastructure market can be released, hinting that included support from all levels of government.
“The simple truth is that a 2.2%increase in GDP and 1.2 million new jobs will not come about by magic,” Adelstein said in a statement. “They will only occur if, as a nation, we recognize the fundamental importance of having a robust, ubiquitous, and affordable wireless broadband network that meets the demands of the 21st century economy. This is as true for local zoning board members as it is for FCC commissioners.”
Adelstein highlighted a number of contentious regulatory issues currently facing the wireless infrastructure space, including separate zoning requirements for small cell deployments; requiring carriers to provide proof that they need to deploy a new cell site; and facilitating the use of existing “support structures, including towers, buildings, water tanks and utility poles” for rapid deployment of wireless infrastructure.
Participants at last year’s PCIA event highlighted policy indecision as one of the main roadblocks to the growth of wireless communications.
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