By: Dillon Khawani, John Phillips, & Daehan Lim
As MIS Majors, it is imperative that we understand modern emerging technologies. One of the most up-and-coming services being offered by mobile carriers is the “5G Network.” 5G is the next-generation mobile data technology that is currently being built and improved worldwide before being ready for public use. Currently, the global leader in the 5G market is the Chinese phone manufacturer, Huawei. As of early 2019, most of the world runs on a 4G LTE network, but the 5G network upgrades bring significant improvements such as:
- Larger network coverage
- Significant speed improvements
- Higher bandwidth allowances
- Rapid improvements in other related areas such as:
- Self-driving cars
- Remote surgery
- AI
- Less power consumption (better mobile battery life)
- Less heat draw
- Lower latency
While all of these improvements sound fantastic for accelerating the modern world and its technologies, it is important to remember that the network change can also come with drawbacks, such as:
- Companies claiming to have 5G when it is not accurate
- Older devices becoming outdated faster
- Infrastructure costs
- Lack of security and privacy analysis
In addition, there are political issues to think about as well. During the recent trade war that the United States had with China, Huawei had key employees who were arrested on allegations of defrauding U.S. banks. There has been speculation that there is more to the issue, such as the potential that the U.S. feels threatened by Huawei and their 5G technology advancements. This would allow China to have a significant head start on developing stronger, better technological infrastructures across their country.
Source: Tutorialspoint, 5G - Advantages & Disadvantages
There have been statements from Washington where the U.S. has attempted to stop Huawei’s building of their 5G network infrastructure, which has been met with strong rebuttal. Amid all of these accusations and issues, it is clear that there is a political aspect which must be investigated as well. These espionage accusations made on behalf of the United States were brought up to the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU could not find any evidence citing that Huawei’s 5G equipment was collecting any data or conducting any type of espionage on behalf of the Chinese government. Even though the United States could not prove that Huawei is guilty of using their 5G infrastructure as a trojan horse for espionage. They are urging their allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks in the case that Huawei could use these networks to spy on these countries in the future. The ITU is also planning to meet in October to finalize the standards for 5G and any concerns surrounding Huawei will not slow down the process. They will be conducting studies around security issues by numerous security experts.
As these security concerns continue to grow, more countries will have to take a side. The United States, New Zealand, and Australia are limiting Huawei’s kits in their networks over the fear of it being a trojan horse for the Chinese government. Now with the Brexit deal coming, there are questions if the UK will continue to allow Huawei to have a presence in their cyberspace. Huawei has had a presence in the UK since 2005 where they landed their first contract with British Telecom. They have partnered with at least ten British universities over the last decade and numerous offices within the UK. Despite the accusations of espionage, Huawei has maintained their innocence but under the Chinese National Intelligence Law which forces any individual or organization to support, cooperate, or assist the nation by collecting or providing intelligence on their behalf.
5G possesses a significant upside and can usher in a new era of technological innovation. With this shift from 4G to 5G, there will have to be an update in pre-existing infrastructure. There is also this race between the major telecommunication vendors and their respective countries. This race is made evident through the United States concerns surrounding security, privacy, and potential espionage conducted by Huawei under the orders of the Chinese government. This has made countries pick a side. Time will tell whether Huawei is guilty of committing espionage under orders of the Chinese government and if 5G is as impactful as experts forecast it to be.
Questions:
- Would you rather want your data to be protected and still keep regular internet speed or put your data at risk and have 5G internet speed?
- Have you heard of 5G? How do you think this technology will personally benefit you in the future?
- Do you think it is smart for the United States to wait to see which networks are the safest or should they quickly adopt the 5G technology before every rival country does?
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