A new report from Accenture commissioned by CTIA indicates 5G wireless networks could create as many as three million jobs and boost the U.S. GDP by approximately $500 billion through direct and indirect benefits.
According to the study, wireless operators will invest as much as $275 billion over the next seven years to deploy 5G across the nation, including $93 billion on construction. That investment, the report found, could directly create 350,000 new construction jobs and a total of around 850,000 U.S. jobs when accounting for suppliers and other partners in the same period. On a larger scale, the report found the economic benefits of 5G networks could also create an additional 2.2 million jobs across the country.
“5G will be transformative for all Americans. Accenture’s report confirms the significant benefits from the next generation of wireless, driven by hundreds of billions of dollars that the wireless industry will invest to deploy 5G,” CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker said.
The report indicated benefits would be seen in communities of all sizes, with small and medium-sized locales with populations between 30,000 and 100,000 gaining 300 to 1,000 jobs while larger cities like Chicago seeing as many as 90,000 jobs created.
The number of jobs added in the short-term, of course, will vary by state, with those like California, Florida, and New York adding the most (11,000, 6,000, and 5,000, respectively) while others like Oregon and South Dakota make more modest gains (1,100 and 200, respectively).
The roll out of 5G would also facilitate the implementation of more smart city setups, the report noted, which could provide savings and other benefits valued at as much as $2 trillion over a 20-year period. In particular, the study called out fuel savings, increases in revenue from earners like public parking, and a reduction in gun crime as some of the benefits smart cities can bring.
“Not only will 5G deployment unlock substantial job growth and economic gains in cities and towns across the country, it will help make our lives safer,” Baker commented. “The Accenture report importantly underscores the need for policymakers at all levels of government to take action—cities and states with modernized zoning and siting rules that support tomorrow’s networks will be the first to realize the economic and civic benefits of 5G.”
