Axios journalists have reached the documents of the Donald Trump administration, which include plans to build a 5G network controlled by the government. All this because of fear of Chinese companies that are potentates when it comes to newly developed technologies related to 5G, Internet of Thing and artificial intelligence. The US government fears that the Chinese would be able to spy on Americans in this way and take over the telecommunications market by excluding the networks that use other technologies.
Currently, the construction of cellular networks in every democratic country in the world looks the same. The government organizes tenders for frequency reservations, and the market regulator makes sure that no entities gain a significant advantage over their competitors. Then, each operator begins to finance the construction of infrastructure. At this stage, each operator must choose a telecommunications equipment supplier that provides base stations and backbone network components. And it is here that Donald Trump’s administration sees potential threats to the security of the United States. Companies from China (Huawei and ZTE) carry out intensive work on their 5G solutions. Therefore, one of the operators could decide to cooperate with a distrustful supplier.
The nationalist 5G network would ensure US telecommunications security
Does Donald Trump’s administration have anything to fear? So far, we have not heard about any of the major US operators running 5G technology tests together with a company from China. This technology is also developed by Nokia and Ericsson, who are the main suppliers of LTE base stations for US operators. Samsung, who also aspires to be a tycoon in the base station market, is also trying its strength. On the other hand, Donald Trump’s specialists may be concerned about 5G devices from China that could spy on the citizens of their country. In this case, the cellular network built by the government would be able to invent suspiciously working devices and block their work.
In the document found by the journalists there is an illustrative description of the plan to build a nationalist 5G network. In the new business model, mobile operators would be required to lease base stations from the government. Such cooperation would look similar to the NetWorkS! Operating in Poland, which base stations are used by Orange and T-Mobile. However, no one knows to what extent the rulers are serious about this idea. American operators have already invested a lot of money in testing and building their own 5G networks. One of them announced that he will launch a new technology in 12 cities this year.
Source: Axios
