5G will have an impact similar to the introduction of electricity or the car, affecting entire economies and benefiting entire societies.”
–Qualcomm CEO STEVE MOLLENKOPF
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The Sprint to 5G
Evolutions in telecom are like clockwork: once a decade something extremely important happens. In the 1980s, the first nationwide mobile network operators (MNOs) appeared (think AT&T and the predecessors to Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile). In the 1990s, GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) rolled out as a standard that became like the Bible for the industry. At the turn of the century, 3G was the new rage and, about ten years after that, 4G/LTE opened the floodgates for transmitting large quantities of data.
As we rapidly approach the 2020s, another important progression in mobile broadband is underway: the rollout of 5G. The new technology has elicited various responses from business leaders, politicians, consumers and technologists. Some point to the opportunity ahead: faster data speeds, vast applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), and improved coverage in densely populated areas. While others question the economics of it, the applications for it, and the impact it will have on everyday life.
Whatever differences of opinion are out there, one thing is clear: the race to 5G has turned into a full-out sprint.
What is 5G and why should you care?
To take a step back, most devices (cell phones, tablets, computers, sensors, drones, etc.) currently use fourth-generation wireless technology to stay connected – also known as 4G or LTE. 5G, a set of standards still under development, is fifth-generation wireless technology that will allow devices to transmit data at higher speeds and with improved coverage in densely populated areas. To give one simplistic example of an application that is particularly near-and-dear to my heart, think about how hard it is to stay connected at a large sporting event with current wireless technology. Now, think about if you could go to that same sporting event but, instead of waiting minutes or longer for your social media image to post or video to upload, you could be streaming another sporting event live or pulling up anything you wanted on the internet in the blink of an eye. Voilà: you have 5G.
And, while the promises of 5G are potentially groundbreaking for everything from consumer devices, to autonomous vehicles, to augmented reality, to artificial reality, to healthcare monitors, 5G networks are very expensive to deploy because they require a dense construction of towers within a specific area, which demands significant capital expenditure. To make 5G a reality, consumers, companies and countries around the world will have to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to upgrade hardware, phones and networks. This will provide a tremendous opportunity for companies and countries leading the way in these efforts to reap huge economic benefits over the next decade – or longer.
Who’s leading the race?
Recently, 5G has become a very topical issue, in large part due to its emergence in the political discourse. In December of 2018, the United States arrested the CFO of Huawei, China’s largest telecom hardware provider, for committing fraud and helping evade sanctions against Iran. The news rattled markets and upped the ante in an already tense trade war with China. Since the arrest, the Unites States has been on the offensive, pressuring allies to ban Huawei from building out 5G networks on national security grounds.
More recently, President Trump made it clear that winning the race to 5G is a national imperative, tweeting the following in late February:
“I want 5G…technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future…We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!”
The impetus for the arrest, the tweet, and even news from the Trump 2020 campaign about nationalizing 5G are clear: winning the race to broadly deploy 5G will have significant geopolitical and economic ramifications. Unfortunately, for anyone keeping score on how the Unites States has been doing up to this point, the data is pretty alarming.
Deloitte published the following in a report titled, “5G: The Chance to Lead for a Decade”:
The Sprint/T-Mobile merger was approved yesterday so I thought about this in reference to depopulation.
https://blog.evergreengavekal.com/the-sprint-to-5g/