According to Axios.com, Trump national security officials are considering an unprecedented federal takeover of the nation’s mobile infrastructure so it won’t fall in the hands of China[1].
Axios claims that it has in its possession a 30-page Powerpoint deck (included in the link provided below) that shares the details of the 5G strategy being mulled over by the National Security Council (NSC).
Two options are being considered for the 5G rollout as follows:
- The US government pays for and builds a single network – which it can in turn license it to the Mobile infrastructure providers such as AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile etc.
- Wireless providers build their own 5G networks that will compete with each other. The NSC document thinks that this option will take longer and be more expensive.
The government plan is to make the 5G network fast and secure, in a way that cannot be broken by China. As a larger plan, the US Government may export this fast/ secure 5G technology to “friendly countries”.
This plan assumes larger significance from reports that China’s Huawei (a Cisco competitor with strong ties to the Chinese government) may have forged ahead with its own version of the technology, perhaps based on the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology. LTE has minor differences with the 4G technology.
This is not the only reason. China is rumored to be winning the Artificial Intelligence (AI) based arms race as well AI algorithm battles. A future conflict between countries maybe fought by using not conventional arms but by disrupting infrastructure.
In a related incident, the Washington Post reports that China’s Communist Party extends its reach into foreign companies[2]. The paper reports that American and European companies involved in joint ventures with Chinese state-owned firms have been asked to give the Communist Party cells an explicit role in decision making, according to executives and business groups.
This is a strong indication that the Chinese dragon is beginning to flex its muscles (sharpen its fire spitting skills?) against the very companies that helped China to become what it is today – an export powerhouse.
A couple of days ago, I had written about how India can differentiate itself from China by being a kinder, gentler sibling to the other countries[3]. Now, Uncle Sam has spoken (or at least writing his speech). Interesting developments lie ahead.
References:
[1] Scoop: Trump team considers nationalizing 5G network – Jan 28, 2018, Axios.com
[2] Command and control: China’s Communist Party extends reach into foreign companies – Jan 28, 2018, Washington Post
[3] India can’t sit motionless while China acts around it – Jan 26, 2018, PGurus.com
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Time for India to step into this market