US President Donald Trump and Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping met Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And with a handshake they sealed a diplomatic "ceasefire" of the conflict that the two most important economies have been waging since March 2018.
The dispute, which began as a commercial battle and an escalation of tariffs and cross-sanctions, soon revealed one of the backgrounds of that fight: deciding which nation will impose the "5G" model (which will then be replicated by other countries). And, associated with it, another more relevant issue: which of the two will control the information.What is 5G?It is mobile network technology. Fifth generation means each of the stages that cell phone lived since its birth (the analog 1G, which only allowed to talk on the phone, a 2G that introduced the SMS, a 3G that provided the Internet and a 4G with which the mobile bandwidth).
This new standard offers:
- faster speed
- Lower latency (time it takes for two teams to communicate)
- More devices that can be connected to the same base
It will boost:
- The Internet of Things (IoT)
- Smart cities
- Driverless cars
- Connected homes
- Virtual and augmented realityWho do you prefer to spy on you?
In this context of tough competitive bidding, Trump set out a series of restrictive measures to limit the operation and expansion of Huawei in the US. and strategic allies, under the argument that leaving the installation of 5G networks in their hands carries the risk of being spied on and even being sabotaged by China.Some of these prohibitions reached Google and its operating system for Android phones, present in almost 80% of all brands of computers, except Apple. Huawei had to create its own platform, which it ironically called Harmony OS.
The measures also reached suppliers of semiconductors, integrated circuits and other internal parts that carry cell phones, such as Intel, Broadcom, Qualcomm and Toshiba, among others. However, the Asian company launched a smartphone in December without a single US component.
"It is not a commercial war, but of access to the network as a source of information and as a tool of commercial and geopolitical pressure for the manufacturing country. The debate is about choosing who is going to spy on you," explains Emmanuel Jaffrot, consultant to iProUP and doctor in telecommunications.
The issue of distrust is not new nor is it exclusive to Trump. During the administration of Barack Obama already warned about the possible espionage with the use of oriental technology.
"The issue is key in any modern society and even more so with 5G, since we are not only talking about people with cell phones, but about the possibility of connecting all objects. The US idea is not to give strategic and sensitive infrastructure who can use it against him, "Enrique Carrier, a telecommunications expert, tells iProUP.The Argentine chapter
In December, the US Embassy in Buenos Aires marked its position by warning: "China's telecommunications providers may be a threat to national security." Two weeks later, he sent a new message demanding to guarantee respect for individual freedom and privacy for the proper development of 5G."It is clear that this war is a sort of distribution of the world," says Jafrott. And he adds: "Whoever has control of the infrastructure will have access to all the data and developments that the new technology will enable. On a global level, Huawei has already signed more than 60 contracts while Nokia closed 63 and Ericsson 32.
The Asian company has a strong interest in entering with its 5G network in Latin America. In the particular case of Argentina, it has already carried out three real environmental tests with Telecom Personal and, during this year, will repeat them with Claro and Telefónica.
"Our solution, Single Ran, allows the reuse of much of the 4G equipment to reach 5G in a smoother way and save in the early stages," Juan Bonora, director of Institutional Relations at Huawei Argentina, tells iProUP.
While telcos look at the price, there are issues of geopolitical alignment with respect to China or the United States that will impact their decisions.
"The US is pushing so that it is not China who wins the local 5G market. It is not that this is a place that must win yes or yes for commercial reasons, there are other more interesting ones," explains Jaffrot.
And he adds: "But for the president of one nation to press that of another, there is clearly another intention, which is to make information and control the networks throughout Latin America. The famous backyard."
For Carrier, it will be a political decision, but the brand of equipment that operators used for the deployment of 4G networks will have more weight. "In the initial stage, it will be important, since advancing to the new generation with a different brand can generate problems. This is, at least, the approach that European operators are doing, where there is a strong presence of Huawei and not they want their costs to increase terribly, "says the analyst.
Juan Domínguez, president of Tecnored, tells iProUP: "The Asian technology company is responsible for 70% of the national Telecom network and 100% of the fiber optic network that the provider owns in Capital and GBA." "The core of the Movistar network is 100% Huawei. Claro and Arsat also have this company's equipment," he adds.
Argentina's network of connectivity is very particular and, in addition to the three large operators, small and medium-sized companies - like telecommunications cooperatives - play a fundamental role.
From Telecom they assure iProUP that they maintain commercial relations with the main international suppliers, attending exclusively attributes of innovation, robustness and technological vanguard. Huawei has been, for more than 15 years, one of its strategic partners for its new generation network infrastructure.
"With them we developed a large part of the process of technological update of our mobile network and the deployment of 4G since 2014, because its solutions meet the standards of strength and scalability, not only to have the fastest network in Argentina, but to be prepared when 5G is commercially available ", they emphasize.The importance of 5GFrom Telecom they ensure that the new generation of mobile communications will radically change the possibilities of current networks. They synthesize it in three key advantages:
- Higher bandwidth: 1 gigabit per second (gbps) and 10 peaks, against 20 and 200 megabits per second of 4G. That is, more than 50 times faster
- Extreme network reliability with up to 100 times faster response speed than 4G
- The possibility of exponentially increasing the number of connected devices, up to one million per km2
This will result in the emergence of an ecosystem of new services, such as interacting in real time with autonomous vehicles, watching a 4K video on the cell phone and advancing on the Internet of Things (IoT).
"Something that is not talked about much and is promising, is the interaction between 5G and the cloud (the cloud). This will allow, for example, that users feel they have unlimited storage and processing capacity on their devices, when it's really going to be in the cloud, "emphasizes Bonora.In the Global Vision of Industry (GIV) document, Huawei lists 10 trends that will define medium-term societies and for which 5G will be crucial, for example:
- 2.8 billion people will use this technology
- 15% of vehicles will use C-V2X, a technology that connects cars with each other, with the environment and pedestrians
- There will be 1 robot per 100 employees in the factories
- 90% of the population will use personal assistants
- 20,000 million smart appliances will be in operation
- 100,000 million devices will connect to the InternetBehind 5G there is a collaborative organization made up of seven organizations from six countries that develop the standard: United States, China; Europe, India, Korea and Japan.
In this sense, Jaffrot believes that it is urgent for Argentina to organize with the region to have its own technology. "5G is already cooked, but let's look at 8G and work to be Latin American," he proposes.
"You cannot only be a consumer in this information society. We create a lot of software and electronics, but the standards and the generation of products, which are key, are produced by others. To avoid suffering these wars, we must go in this direction, but we will continue to be at the mercy of these giants, "he remarks.Who will win this war?
It is still early for how the recent US commercial truce will turn out. and China and the United States. It is likely that the war never ends and that the two powers reach an agreement to divide the world without losing their dominant position.Companies obviously seek to maximize their profits. Oriental products are of quality and technological products from the USA. they manufacture in Asian territory because it is cheaper, Domínguez explains.
"I think that neither American companies echo the idea of being spied on with Chinese technology. Perhaps they will be pressured by the Trump administration to take a stand they would not choose. In Argentina, none of the telcos are of American origin. and there are no restrictive policies for Chinese suppliers, "he completes.
For Carrier, the fact that neither Ericsson nor Nokia are from the US is proof that it is not exclusively a commercial issue, with Trump trying to favor an American company.
"The basis is the concern for the issue of security and it was mixed with the commercial issue. But in the end it is not that, but a dispute over the technology that will handle everything," he says.
From Huawei they deny that the onslaught of the White House has had an impact on the commercial, although they recognize that they could be affected in terms of their image because they are a low-profile company.
"We continue working, we have hired more people globally and all the doubts that arose about what will happen if Huawei can not count on parts provided by the US were answered when we launched our latest smartphone: they do not have a single piece of that country. In addition, we continue to sign more 5G contracts, "he concludes.