Could Better Mobile Networks Create More U.S. Jobs?

Job growth is widely hailed as a necessary component of the U.S. economic recovery. A new Deloitte report contends that by 2016, faster 4G wireless networks could directly create from 371,000 to 771,000 U.S. jobs. A majority of these jobs would be at wireless carriers and other telecommunications companies. Deloitte expects that these companies will invest $25 to $53 billion in building 4G networks over the next few years. But wait, there's more: As with the growth of the Internet, widely deployed 4G wireless networks may spur the development of entirely new businesses and professions that capitalize on this infrastructure. As Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. media and telecommunications sector leader Phil Asmundson recently told Marketplace Tech Report: "4G is really going to be that opportunity to literally leave your computer behind." This could have profound implications for job creation in rural areas, many of which have been hit especially hard by the recession. Conventional "wired" broadband providers have generally lagged in connecting rural areas. This in turn has impaired educational and economic prospects for many rural residents. "To bolster the nation's economic recovery, it will be important for the U.S. to compete effectively in the global race to deploy 4G networks," says the Deloitte report.