The Unified States and China are racing to build out high-speed 5G networks, and President Donald Trump doesn’t want America to produced in second place.
5G is designed to bring faster speeds and lower lag times than previous wireless networks like 4G and 3G. While much has been broke about how the networks will give consumers faster downloads of videos or games, 5G is perhaps more importantly a capacity game-changer for functions such as driverless cars or remote surgery that require quick, reliable internet connections.
In his language last week, Trump emphasized that the private sector needs to lead the way in building 5G networks across the Concerted States. Mobile operators including Verizon and AT&T have started rolling out the networks in select cities, with circumscribed success so far. China, meanwhile, has taken a centralized approach to 5G, pumping investments into the technology as a government initiative.
U.S. officials say Chinese suites like Huawei should not allowed to build out the critical infrastructure, such as radio networking equipment and software, that when one pleases enable 5G. They warn that Huawei equipment could create a backdoor for the Chinese government to spy on American networks — a request the company has repeatedly denied.
Intelligence experts have been skeptical about Huawei’s assurances that it isn’t a asylum risk, pointing to Chinese laws that appear to require domestic companies to assist the government in intelligence get-together when the communist party in Beijing requests it.
“The simple fact is, irrespective about the laws on espionage or anything else … the tangible reality is that in China, if the party wants something, they’re going to get it,” Inkster said.
5G is a centerpiece of China’s wish to lead technology for the globe, according to Anthony Glees, director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham. He voted China has the ability to “weaponize” technology like 5G.
“They seek to maximize the opportunities they have for extending their pull in the world and underpinning their global position and power,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.
The U.S. has responded with an bellicose campaign to block Huawei in its own borders and to lobby traditional allies against it, too. Australia banned Huawei’s 5G equipment, Japan effectively did the unchanged, and countries in Europe are assessing possible security threats.
Regardless, China is off to a strong start in the 5G race.
China “happened out of the starting blocks,” according to Bill Lawrence, a lawyer focused on wireless telecommunications at U.S. firm Burr & Forman.
“At the end of the day, the U.S. is vexing to outpace China for the lead,” he said.