Last month, tech industry expert and founder of Disruptive Analysis, Dean Bubley, authored a column on RCR Wireless fact-checking the conclusions in CTIA’s economic impact study from NERA consulting, which overstates the economic benefits of exclusive spectrum – while ignoring clearing costs and alternative mechanisms for obtaining extra capacity or coverage.

Now, other wireless experts are sharing similar objections, cautioning against CTIA’s overly optimistic assumptions, questionable math, and one-sided analysis. New reports from NCTA and The Phoenix Center both conclude that there is no evidence to support CTIA’s claim that more exclusive spectrum for 5G would add trillions of dollars to the economy.

As part of their analysis, The Phoenix Center demolished the fiction that 5G has already delivered the massive economic benefits initially promised by the big cell carriers. They suggest that any “government funding allocations, spectrum policy decisions and regulatory frameworks should be based on realistic assessments of relevant margins rather than industry marketing campaigns.”

Likewise, NCTA urged policymakers to “demand a more balanced view that accounts for real-world timelines, market variability, and a more complete understanding of economic trade-offs.”

Spectrum for the Future agrees. The methodology behind the CTIA’s inflated numbers don’t hold up under scrutiny. Policymakers must rely on proven data as they consider all possible options –  including unlicensed and shared spectrum solutions – to get the most out of our scarce national spectrum resources.

Read the analyses from Dean Bubley, NCTA, and The Phoenix Center for more.