5G Internet Hardware Battle Between China and U.S. Allies

By: Joseph Mallek

The next generation of wireless, internet technology is now being rolled out around the world. The next generation, known as 5G, will bring greater speed, a more responsive, and greater connectivity. Not only will this be available on smartphones capable of connecting to the new network but the 5G network will also change the way we connect to the internet in our homes. Experts have described the 5G network as a revolutionary step for internet technology.

With the new generation of the internet set to roll out across the United States and the world, hardware manufacturers are all competing to provide countries with the new 5G infrastructure. One of these manufacturers is China’s largest telecommunication’s producer, Huawei. Huawei has long been suspected by U.S. intelligence officials to have an extremely close relationship with the Chinese Government. Use of Huawei phones for Government employees and Government contractors has been banned by the Trump administration, out of fear of spying and the use of backdoors in phones. The same fear exists if Huawei is allowed to sell its hardware to 5G providers.

The Trump administration is putting pressure on not only domestic internet providers to not use hardware from Huawei or anything Chinese manufacturer. Described as a new arms race, whoever controls this new technology will have a significant economic, intelligence, and military advantage this century. To protect the security of the United States and its allies, the administration is moving quickly to prevent the sale of Huawei hardware.

Citations:

David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes, Raymond Zhong & Marc Santora, In 5G Race With China, U.S. Pushes Allies to Fight Huawei, The New York Times (Jan. 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/us/politics/huawei-china-us-5g-technology.html.

Sascha Segan, What Is 5G?, PCMag (Jan. 28, 2019), https://www.pcmag.com/article/345387/what-is-5g.

Michael Ken, Report: Trump to Ban Huawei Tech in US Wireless Networks, PCMag (Feb. 8, 2019), https://www.pcmag.com/news/366440/report-trump-to-ban-huawei-tech-in-us-wireless-networks.