Open Letter to Arielle Roth
A Call to Leadership: Make American Wireless Great Again
Dear Arielle Roth,
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) sits at the intersection of America’s most critical technology policies—spectrum, broadband, supply chain security, AI infrastructure, and national competitiveness. Under your leadership, NTIA has a historic opportunity to define America’s digital future and ensure we do not fall behind in the global race for 6G, AI-driven networks, and advanced compute infrastructure.
But to meet this moment, NTIA must break free from outdated policy frameworks and push for a whole-of-government strategy that aligns spectrum policy, network innovation, and AI infrastructure into a unified national agenda. The current fragmented approach—where FCC, DOD, Commerce, and private industry operate in silos—is a losing strategy in an era where China, the EU, and allied nations are moving aggressively to dominate the next wave of digital infrastructure.
This is an urgent call to action: NTIA must lead a unified, forward-looking strategy that ensures U.S. leadership in the foundational technologies of the next decade.
For some background, I have been active as an investor and Board member in many of the most advanced connectivity opportunities over the last twenty years, spanning three generations of wireless standards (3G, 4G and now 5G). At Arraycomm, working with Marty Cooper, I witnessed firsthand the power of advanced software to expand network capacity—a lesson that fundamentally shaped my technical perspective and fostered a profound belief in the capabilities of American wireless engineers to innovate. I saw further advancements in this area while working with the incredible engineering team at Tarana Wireless.
My involvement with Clearwire and Echostar has solidified my understanding of the operational and financial challenges of scaling large networks. These experiences take me back to my first job developing the Dulles Greenway, a private toll road, where I learned early on about the complexities of large-scale infrastructure projects. Investments and engagements in Federated Wireless and Soniqwave have further deepened my experience in navigating complex regulatory landscapes and evolving market dynamics related to spectrum and spectrum sharing.
With that as background, I humbly submit these thoughts.
The Five Priorities NTIA Must Address
If the U.S. is serious about maintaining global leadership in advanced networks, NTIA must spearhead a cohesive, long-term strategy to address five critical issues:
1. A National Spectrum Strategy for 5G, 6G, and AI Networks
The U.S. currently lacks a long-term spectrum roadmap, leading to constant battles between commercial and defense interests. China, by contrast, is locking in spectrum for 6G development, aiming to control the global telecom standards of the future.
What NTIA Must Do:
Create a 10-year U.S. Spectrum Strategy to align spectrum policy with economic and national security goals.
End the piecemeal auction approach and shift to strategic, long-term allocations that prioritize AI-driven networks, Open RAN, and future 6G technologies.
Push for spectrum-sharing innovations that optimize federal and commercial use without undermining national security.
Take an offensive posture at the ITU and global standards bodies to prevent China from dictating global 6G standards.
2. Secure America’s Digital Infrastructure: Open RAN, AI Compute, and Supply Chain Resilience
America faces a telecom security crisis—no domestic 5G equipment vendors, reliance on foreign cloud providers, and supply chain vulnerabilities in AI and networking hardware.
What NTIA Must Do:
Expand Open RAN R&D funding to accelerate the development of secure, U.S.-led telecom infrastructure.
Treat AI compute and networking infrastructure as national strategic assets—we cannot allow China to out-scale us in data center capacity, fiber, and AI model hosting.
Work with the Department of Commerce and private sector leaders to create an alternative to Huawei and ZTE in emerging markets.
3. Align AI, Networks, and Compute Infrastructure for National Competitiveness
U.S. AI leadership is not just about models—it’s about the infrastructure that powers them. Without an aligned strategy for fiber, data centers, and compute scaling, our AI edge will erode.
What NTIA Must Do:
Recognize network and compute capacity as a strategic bottleneck for AI growth and develop a roadmap to scale high-performance connectivity.
Integrate AI-driven optimization into spectrum planning—the networks of the future must be designed with AI-native architectures.
Ensure U.S. cloud and telecom companies (AWS, Google, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon) are aligned in scaling next-gen AI and compute networks.
4. Lead the U.S. Strategy for 6G and Future Network Architectures
China is years ahead in 6G planning—investing heavily in terahertz spectrum, satellite-based networks, and AI-driven wireless optimization. The EU, Japan, and South Korea are also advancing national 6G strategies.
What NTIA Must Do:
Establish a National 6G R&D Consortium—ensuring U.S. universities, research labs, and private firms lead in foundational breakthroughs.
Fund next-gen spectrum and network research to support innovations in terahertz frequencies, quantum networking, and AI-optimized telecom infrastructure.
Push for federal R&D investments in satellite-based networks and secure, decentralized digital infrastructure.
5. A Global Strategy to Counter China’s Digital Influence
China’s Digital Silk Road is creating global dependencies on Chinese telecom infrastructure, allowing Beijing to export surveillance networks, control internet flows, and expand digital authoritarianism.
What NTIA Must Do:
Work with State Department and allied nations to fund U.S.-led telecom infrastructure projects in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
Strengthen global alliances to create an alternative to China’s digital hegemony—working with Japan, South Korea, the EU, and India on joint infrastructure investments.
Ensure trade policy aligns with digital security—restricting market access for countries using untrusted Chinese telecom equipment.
NTIA Must Lead—Not Just Coordinate
NTIA cannot afford to be a passive coordinator among agencies—it must take an aggressive leadership role in shaping U.S. digital infrastructure policy. The future of AI, networks, and national security are intertwined, and America needs a cohesive strategy to remain competitive.
This is a moment that will define U.S. technology leadership for the next 20 years. The question is: Will NTIA step up and lead?
We urge you, Arielle Roth, to push for a bold, whole-of-government strategy that ensures America’s digital infrastructure remains the foundation of global innovation, security, and prosperity.
The time to act is now.
Sincerely,
Tim McDonald
Synthetic Wisdom: https://trmcdonald.substack.com
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trmcdonald/
Email: Tim@pennantcapital.com