Americans Will Benefit From 5G, Regardless of Who Gets There First
President Trump said last week that “the race to 5G is a race that America must win.” What he hasn’t said is why. The truth is, it makes little or no difference which country’s telecom companies achieve 5G first. What matters is which national economy takes advantage of it best.
5G – which is about 100 times faster than 4G – will make a big difference in our lives. It will facilitate self-driving cars, remote surgery, more efficient agricultural methods – including the opportunity to turn around the increasing mortality rate of bees – and communication between machines in homes and factories. “Smart cities” that use the Internet of Things – such as connected street lamps and traffic lights – will be able to benefit from 5G’s faster speeds and constant data connections. But it makes little difference which country’s telecom companies develop it first. The U.S and Chinese industries are indeed competing; but what they are competing over is who can provide efficiencies to companies in all industries, all over the world. If Chinese telecoms get there first, and provide the services that U.S. companies need, is that a bad thing or a good thing for the U.S. economy?
How well a country fares with 5G depends less on getting there first, and more on taking advantage of what it has to offer by marshalling the skilled and entrepreneurial people and the financial capital to maximize its potential. Is it really important, or even beneficial, for the United States to build a 5G network before China? Japan was the first country to offer 3G, but that hasn’t impeded Apple from using it to dominate the smart phone and apps market. Which of the components of your smart phone are there because they were developed by the Japanese? Do you know? Do you care? Do you have any reason to, as long as you – and tens of millions of your fellow Americans, are reaping the benefits?
5G may very well lead to the creation of 3 million jobs, as Trump claims. But would the United States be able to scoop up all of them, even if it does indeed “win” the race? No, and neither would China. Both countries would still be well-positioned to derive the economic benefits and other advantages the technological breakthrough will offer. GM will still be able to advance its goal of leading the self-driving space, even if Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei participates among the providers. Americans will still benefit from remote surgery, U.S. smart cities will still be able to benefit from constant connection and faster speeds, and the American environment will still benefit from improved protections for bees, regardless of whether the technology companies involved are based in Shanghai or Silicon Valley.
Given this, it is not surprising that Germany’s telecommunications regulator made it clear to the Financial Times this week that no equipment suppliers, including Huawei, would be excluded. All participating companies will be required to comply with security requirements, but there is no reason to believe the Chinese provider poses a particular risk. While some countries, including Japan and Australia, have joined the United States in banning Huawei from selling 5G networking equipment to domestic firms, the European Union has thus far shunned U.S. pressure to prohibit the firm from participating. The German regulator has said it has yet to see evidence that Huawei poses a security risk.
5G represents an important technological breakthrough for the whole world. The last thing we should be doing is turning it into a vehicle for the display of nationalist pride.
