Wireless Switch Helped Create Jobs

NDN has released a new economic study that found the adoption and use of successive generations of cell phones supported by changes from 2G to 3G wireless networks led to a creation of 1,585,000 new jobs in the United States from April of 2007 and June of 2011. The study also estimates that a transition from 3G to 4G mobile broadband networks could possibly create over 231,000 jobs before 2012 ends in the United States.

The study is titled “The Employment Effects of Advances in Internet and Wireless Infrastructure: Evaluating the Transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G,” was authored by Robert J. Shapiro (chairman of the Globalization Initiative at NDN and the former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs) and Kevin A. Hassett (senior fellow and director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute).

“The technical advances from 2G to 3G wireless broadband and the spread of these more advanced technologies led directly to the creation of more than 1.5 million new jobs over four years, during a period when overall private-sector employment declined by 5.3 million jobs,” said Shapiro. “The private investments that spurred the build-out of 3G broadband networks, with all of their innovations, happened in a highly-competitive wireless market in the United States. The same competitive forces are now driving the additional investments and innovations in the current transition from 3G to 4G wireless networks.”

“The authors effectively show that the U.S. wireless sector is creating real job opportunities for Americans across the country, especially during a time of economic duress,” said Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of NDN. “The authors make a strong case for the inclusion of measures to accelerate the deployment of 4G infrastructure in any national job creation strategy to help jumpstart America’s economy. As policymakers look to 2012, they should be sure to encourage a regulatory environment that promotes continued high levels of private-sector investment in today’s competitive wireless market.”

“Past experience suggests that the shift to 4G wireless infrastructure will also open the door to a wide range of new applications, products, services, and even industries that no one can anticipate in advance,” said Hassett. “These developments almost certainly will produce economic gains at least comparable to those generated by the previous build-out and adoption of 3G technologies and related devices in America.”

The study also discussed how transition from 2G to 3G spread new business that included e-commerce, mobile social networking, and location-based services.

“In the 21st century global economy, advanced wireless networks are a foundation on which much global economic activity takes place,” said Shapiro. “3G and 4G networks and the technologies associated with them provide that foundation, moving entire economies. For America to stay competitive and prosperous, it is imperative that private-sector investment and upgrades in these technologies continue to advance, so our businesses and workers can meet demand from consumers and firms on a national and global scale.”