Executive Summary As stated by President Trump in the March 2020 National Strategy to Secure 5G, “Fifth generation wireless technology, or 5G, will be a primary driver of our Nation’s prosperity and security in the 21st century”. The National Strategy to Secure 5G details how the United States along with like-minded countries will lead global development, deployment, and management of secure and reliable 5G infrastructure. The work to enhance the security of 5G networks will require a range of efforts from across the United States Government, working in close collaboration with our international and industry partners. The United States Government is committed to fostering innovation and realizing the technological promise of 5G, while continuing to safeguard our economy and national security and ensuring continued access to 5G networks, with lawful authorization, for critical government functions. In accordance with the Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020, the Executive Branch has developed a comprehensive implementation plan. This implementation will be managed under the leadership of the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, supported by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and with contributions from and coordination among a wide range of departments and agencies. The implementation plan took into account the 69 substantive comments in response to NTIA’s Request for Comments received from companies, industry associations, and think tanks representing a range of interests and aspects of the telecommunications ecosystem. Consistent with the National Strategy to Secure 5G, the implementation plan encompasses four lines of effort, which are detailed below. Line of Effort One: Facilitate Domestic 5G Rollout The first line of effort establishes a new research and development initiative to develop advanced communications and networking capabilities to achieve security, resilience, safety, privacy, and coverage of 5G and beyond at an affordable cost. Advancement of United States leadership in Secure 5G and beyond systems and applications will be accomplished by enhancing centers of research and development and manufacturing. These efforts will leverage public-private partnerships spanning government, industry, academia, national laboratories, and international allies. This line of effort also intends to identify incentives and options to leverage trusted international suppliers1, both to facilitate secure and competitive 5G buildouts, and to ensure the global competitiveness of United States manufacturers and suppliers. Line of Effort Two: Assess Risks to & Identify Core Security Principles of 5G Infrastructure For the purposes of this implementation plan, determination of whether a supplier is “trusted” is intended to occur via rigorous supplier evaluation, as noted in the “Prague Proposals,” which take into account the rule of law; the security environment; ethical supplier practices; and a supplier’s compliance with secure standards and industry best practices. Specifically, evaluations should include the following elements: (1) Whether network hardware and software suppliers are subject, without independent judicial review, to control by a foreign government; (2) Whether network hardware and software suppliers are financed openly and transparently using standard best practices in procurement, investment, and contracting; (3) Whether network hardware and software suppliers have transparent ownership, partnerships, and corporate governance structures; and (4) Whether network hardware and software suppliers exemplify a commitment to innovation and respect for intellectual property rights. These criteria are intended to be complimentary to and used alongside the additional trust principles developed via Activity 2.1, and additional security principles developed via Activity 2.5 of this implementation plan. 1 3