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By Phil McCausland
President Donald Trump has again drawn national attention to what has become one of the most controversial technological and geopolitical challenges: the race to build a new 5G wireless Internet network generation.
The president used his Twitter account to highlight the need for US companies to "redouble efforts" to establish the 5G network "or to be left behind". 5G wireless networks are expected to deliver superior connectivity and data rates, paving the way for advanced technologies. technologies such as autonomous cars.
Trump also encouraged the development of 6G technology, which would offer even greater technological capabilities but which remains almost entirely theoretical.
Trump's tweets were released just hours after CBS published an interview with Ren Zhengfei, CEO of Chinese telecom company Huawei, who said his company was already deploying 5G technology and that it was not a big deal. she was going "soon" to introduce it.
Huawei is at the center of concerns over America's delay in developing advanced wireless technology. The United States gives ground to the Chinese firm abroad and to the country, where Huawei already supplies at least 25% of the Rural Wireless Association's member networks, according to a file filed by the Federal Communications Commission in December .
While major US telecommunications companies have touted their investments in 5G technology, Chinese companies have already taken a lead, fearing that the US can lag behind in building new technologies from the networks. next generation.
"The implication is that the new industries of the future, the new ways to make a living, will be in China and not here. Susan Crawford, author of "Fiber: The Upcoming Technological Revolution – And Why America Could Miss," said Susan Crawford, a professor at Harvard Law School. technological policy.
In some respects, China far exceeds the US market for wireless infrastructure development, a report published in 2018 by accounting firm Deloitte describing in detail the fast pace at which wireless carriers in the country are building new ones. cell towers.
"Infrastructure spending and tower density distinguish China's progress and underscore how far China outperforms the United States in the early stages of 5G deployment," Deloitte wrote in his report. "China is building a network site density at an unprecedented rate."
Trump 's tweet is complicated by his government' s decision to accuse Huawei last month of money laundering, bank fraud, scams, conspiracy, and conspiracy to hinder justice, as well as to prevent it. arrest Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who is also Zhengfei, in Canada. girl.
Trump also signed a law that prevents federal government agencies from using Huawei's products after six US intelligence agencies warned Americans to avoid buying smartphones. The company is the world's second largest provider of mobile devices.
The FCC should soon ban Huawei technology entirely in the United States for reasons of national security.
But Huawei's founder told CBS that the company had never shared information with the Chinese government and would not give up on its efforts to broaden its appeal in the US market.
Other senior administration officials, however, also expressed distrust of Huawei on Thursday.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on Fox Business Network that the US would not partner or share information with any country using Huawei's communications technology, saying administration would not endanger US information ".
"If a country adopts it and inserts it into some of its critical information systems," said Pompeo, referring to Huawei's technology, "we will not be able to share information with We will not be able to work with them. "
Pompeo said it could affect the location of US embassies and military outposts.
While the United States, Australia and New Zealand have banned Huawei's 5G equipment, traditional American allies such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan plan to use the company's technology to establish their own 5G network, according to information compiled by Bloomberg. .
Former FCC President Tom Wheeler, who wrote an editorial on Huawei's threat on Wednesday, said a major problem is that China's 5G advance could make the US campaign lose the technological edge. of his close allies.
The tense relationship that the Trump administration has developed with its traditional American allies could also be an obstacle in this campaign.
"It's amazing how to sting your allies in the eye has the power to splash you," said Wheeler, who pointed out that a ban on Huawei in the United States would not be fully effective.
"It's not enough and we do not let them break their arm by patting their backs. Cyber security needs to raise bigger problems, "he said. "We saw how malicious state actors used our non-Huawei equipment to attack US assets. We need to think beyond the infrastructure to anticipate how we are going to handle this. "
Although the debate on the world stage is undoubtedly the most intense, the dispute over Huawei and 5G can also be felt in small communities in the United States.
Large telecommunications companies that typically serve cities have supported Huawei's technology ban as part of the development of their own equipment. Smaller mobile operators, however, find it necessary for the Chinese company's inexpensive technology to remain competitive and to be able to afford to serve customers in rural areas.
"The onion is peeling a lot here, but the FCC that plans to ban Huawei's equipment will have a negative impact on smaller carriers that do not have the financial reach of major carriers." "said Gigi Sohn, a distinguished lawmaker from Georgetown. Institute for Law and Technology Policy.
"The sad part of this whole conversation is that we are talking about these sophisticated technologies that will benefit the haves, while the poor will continue to be left behind," she added.
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