[ad_1]
<! –
->
Google's decision not to use its Huawei Android software is considered the beginning of a technological cold war that could force African countries – in the future – to choose between American and Chinese technologies, have said badysts at the BBC.
Most Africans who connect to the Internet today probably use a Chinese smartphone, powered by a Chinese-built network, and at least half the time it was built by Chinese technology giant Huawei.
"Huawei has built huge swaths of Africa's current IT infrastructure and if the US manages to cripple the company, the aftershocks could be very distressing for the burgeoning technology sector of Africa, which is now supporting a company in central Washington, "Eric Olander, of South Africa based on the China-Africa project, says.
US President Donald Trump has waged a public campaign urging US allies to sever ties with Huawei, saying the company's technology posed a security risk, for example, because it allowed the Chinese government d & # 39; spy.
The company repeatedly denied the claims.
The US campaign could spark what Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, had predicted would be the inevitable Internet bifurcation between a "Chinese-led Internet and a non-Internet." Chinese led by the United States ".
If that happens, Africa should not take sides, Bok Harriet Kariuki, a specialist in Sino-African relations, told BBC.
"This is not our fight, we should instead focus on what works for us," she said.
African countries should instead come together to educate the population on the issues and agree on a European-style data protection bill designed to protect African consumers, Kariuki said.
"This is probably the time when Africa is considering developing its own relevant technologies for its market instead of being pbadive consumers, and I want to see African countries join forces to fight this rampant digital colonization," he said. she told the BBC.
"The African Union hack"
While recent concerns about Huawei focused on communication networks in the West, there are also allegations of an earlier security breach in Africa.
Critics of Huawei's operations report a report published in January 2018 in the French newspaper Le Monde, according to which the computer system of the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, capital of the country. Ethiopia, installed by Huawei, would have been compromised.
The discovery revealed that for five years, between midnight and 2 am, the data from the AU servers had been transferred to more than 8,000 km, on servers located in Shanghai.
The accusations have been denied by Chinese and African Union officials.
African governments, even those with close security ties to the United States, have largely escaped the Huawei debate – and the reasons are obvious.
Huawei is running a large operation in Africa, especially as a major smartphone vendor.
Cobus van Staden, a senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, told the BBC that he built most of Africa's 4G Internet networks.
The CEO of Kenyan telecom giant Safaricom, Bob Collymore, said Huawei had been a "excellent partner for many years".
"We would like to stay with our partners as much as possible, but there may be practical difficulties if the embargo concerns US companies working with Huawei because it is an interconnected activity," he said. he said in a recent speech.
The company, which opened its first office in Africa in 1998, is also well positioned to win 5G network rollout contracts on the continent.
The super-fast network is presented as the Internet iteration that will fuel the technologies of "Internet of Things", smart cities, autonomous vehicles, and so on.
"The extension of Huawei's presence on the continent has been made possible by being the first company to harness the potential of the information technology economy in Africa and by providing the necessary means to support its projects, "said Van Staden.
"The conditions of tied aid imposed by China, which force African governments to work with Chinese companies, have also helped," he added.
According to technology research firm IDC, Huawei is currently the fourth largest smartphone seller in Africa, behind another Chinese company, Transsion, which manufactures the Tecno and Infinix brands, as well as Samsung.
All four brands currently use Google's Android operating system.
Huawei's dominance and relations with African governments could prove useful if the so-called technological cold war between China and the United States threatens its operations in Africa.
"Africa is the last technological market in the world and its domination would be essential," said Van Staden.
"Some people, like here in South Africa, where Huawei is a major player, fear being excluded from Google's ecosystem, but Huawei could use the current situation to change the game."
"Few US companies know how to work in the African market to create products relevant to the continent's consumers." Huawei could use the current situation to modify the calculation and develop software in languages that really serve the African market. said van Staden. I said.
Most Africans are online today thanks to cheap Chinese phones and many are more concerned about the price of gadgets and other features – like a dual SIM card phone and a long service life of the battery – only through an operating system, he added.
American Internet vs Chinese Internet
Iginio Gagliardone, author of China Africa and the future of the Internet, acknowledged that the fight between China and the United States may well be the reason that would drive Huawei to use more of its own software to support its market in full boom of smartphones.
But he told the BBC that it would not be cheap or easy to develop this capability.
It would also be difficult to export China's closed Internet model, which would imply forcing customers to use Baidu rather than Google and Sina Weibo instead of Twitter.
However, WeChat, a versatile application combining social media platforms, messaging and mobile payments, could take off in Africa.
Will Africa be forced to make a choice?
"African countries should not choose one part, in fact, it would be interesting to be able to form a non-aligned movement that defends its interests during the technological Cold War," Gagliardone said.
His research, despite suspicions, revealed no evidence that China is actively urging African countries to adopt its censored version of the Internet.
"What you see is that China supplies the products requested by African governments," Gagliardone said. However, Gagliardone believes that China, as part of its efforts to protect its businesses, could leverage its relationship with African governments to develop protocols that give its companies an edge over the West.
"I do not see, however, that the consumer market is affected, but I still see that consumers continue to have access to different products to choose from," he said.
The resulting technological Cold War is an opportunity and the continent should not be forced to choose a part, according to Ms. Kariuki.
However, according to Fazlin Fransman, of the Moja Research Institute of South Africa, "the current boom of the Internet and technology [in Africa] is largely due to the investment of Chinese technology companies.
Africa, in his opinion, has already chosen a camp and that is China.
[ad_2]
Source link
