Security Council official behind 5G network plan no longer at White House: report

The U.S. official behind a memo arguing for the development of a nationalized 5G mobile network has reportedly left the National Security Council (NSC).

The Washington Post reported Friday that Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding’s detail on the council ended on Jan. 31 and was not renewed. 

Spalding was the author of a memo and PowerPoint presentation that outlined a plan to centralize the nation’s 5G network. That proposal was reported on Sunday by Axios.

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The plan prompted an uproar from telecommunication companies, who argued that such an undertaking would stymie the industry and hamper developments. 

According to the Post, White House officials believed that Spalding had overstepped his role in so aggressively pushing for the plan for a nationalized broadband network, which factored into the decision to not renew his detail on the NSC.

He has not been blamed for leaking the memo and PowerPoint presentation to the press, the Post reported. 

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Monday that the idea was in “the very earliest stages of the conversation.”

She said that nothing had been decided other than that the nation needs a “secure network” to protect against possible cyberattacks from China and other actors.