5G, Coming to a Smartphone Near You: Spectrum Wars Explained

The coming of the next wave of smartphone technology, known as 5G, is creating critical demand for a public resource that’s in short supply, invisible to the naked eye, and could bring in tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury: radio waves.

Radio waves, or spectrum, are the prized conduit for cellular networks to carry text messages, voice signals, and data to smartphones.

The Federal Communications Commission is tasked with managing commercial use of radio waves. That job is getting trickier as AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc., and Sprint Corp. roll out fifth-generation cellphone services, ...