China is in a global race to develop efficient 5G mobile and wireless communications standards to its advantage. Who wants to play in the digital economy, a role that now needs to catch up fast, says Frank Sieren.
A mobile Revolution rolls on us. Some even speak of a “technological Cold war.” This may be exaggerated. But one thing is for sure: Who has the global race to the Expansion of the new mobile wireless standards 5G is a step ahead in the digital economy of the future set the tone.
Many of the so-called future technologies without the 5G-computing power, which is more than 100 times faster than the currently available LTE network, not feasible. Autonomous Driving, for example, quantities of satellites and Sensors, the flash will be quickly transferred without great data, not sure. But also the download speed, stutter-free Streaming and high image resolutions are improved by 5G Connections.
China from the beginning to the height of the eyes
For the first time in a Tech-Revolution China, with plays from the beginning to the height of the eyes. Beijing, the industrial Nations of the ceiling in the introduction of a nationwide 5G network even depend. According to a study by the US consulting firm Deloitte, the people’s Republic has overtaken the previous leader USA. China, according to the study, have currently more than 350,000 mobile phone towers, the 5G-communication support – ten Times more than the United States. Analysis Mason, a other consulting company from the UK, comes to the conclusion that China’s lead on “a combination of proactive policy and industrial momentum” back. In fact, the conditions are in any other major industrial Nation is currently cheaper.
DW-columnist Frank Sieren
Beijing sees the 5G network, as a crucial Instrument to China by 2025 for the global Tech superpower, which can take in all of the key technologies with the West. 400 billion to be invested by the government until 2020 for the Development of the 5G network. So, in the current five-year plan. Since 2015, China has already spent $ 24 billion more than the United States for the 5G. China is already now equipped across the Board with the previous technology, 4G, which is an important requirement to fast on 5G. The potential number of customers for 5G applications is in the mobile-savvy China is enormous, while the costs for the Expansion are relatively low. Because Beijing can rely on in the Expansion on their own companies. Advance group Huawei, which not only sold recently in the world more Smartphones than Apple, but also one of the leading Telecom equipment manufacturer in the world, the South China Telecom. In the case of Huawei, it has been doing research for almost ten years to the 5G Standard, and is now involved also in countries such as South Korea, Japan, France, Italy and Canada in the development of the networks.
The enormous bandwidth and the pace of 5G networks will make the way for all sorts of new technologies and services. Real-time Translations, but also Smart Homes in which all household devices are networked together, so everyday. More efficient logistics and a fully networked automation processes and Smart grids, which direct the energy exactly where it is needed are chains feasible. This means lower electricity costs and renewable electricity from solar cells and wind turbines.
The First defines the Standards
Who will first 5G, not a so only great profits, but can also determine which hardware and Software as Standard – in short: to decide on how we in the future will communicate. The more data you can accumulate a 5G-pioneer by connected devices, the faster will be the technical lead in the applications grows. Data are known the Oil of the 21 dimensions. Century.
Especially Washington wants to get its place in the sun at the source is not in dispute. Therefore Trumps trade Minister Wilbur Ross has declared the Development of a 5G network for the “main concern of the government”. The telecommunications sector is superior to China militarily, politically, and economically “in the advantage, in the beginning of the year leaked document from the National Security Council”.
Trump puts China in the way of that
US President, Donald Trump is trying China on the way to the Tech superpower, so many stones to put in the way as possible. Last March, Washington had the Mega-Takeover of the US chip manufacturer Qualcomm, the Singaporean competitors Broadcom burst. The company with Chinese roots is a “security risk” for the United States, it was said from the White house, because it could not sell to the Takeover of parts from Qualcomm to Chinese competitors such as Huawei. An absurd logic that the United States should also push other countries in the case of transactions in the telecommunications sector the latch. The could sell to the Chinese. The network equipment manufacturer ZTE has also been slowed down. To sell the Trump government to ban US suppliers of parts to the company from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. This brought the group to the brink of collapse. Trump relented only at the last Moment. The Beijing was a lesson: Now, the government and the company will do everything to be as fast as possible, independent from the United States. For more than a few years will not be the last.
While Huawei in the United States is excluded because of espionage suspicion also from the market for networks and cooperation in the Deutsche Telekom, the Spanish Telefónica and the British provider Vodafone in the construction of the 5G network in Europe with Huawei. Because the supply is cheaper than the competition from Northern Europe and the USA.
Europe needs cooperation with China
Meanwhile, Europe and the USA in this question, no common line. Europe does not need the Chinese technique, in order not to fall as in the LTE Standard, where Germany reached according to a study by the British company Opensignal in a European comparison, only space 32 of 36 – just behind Albania.
To bring themselves up to 2025 as an “innovation leader” in a position, wants to let the Federal government at the beginning of 2019, the coveted 5G mobile radio frequencies on the in Bonn, the Federal network Agency auctioned. Then the major network operators Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica are in the duty. In order to create a close-knit network, you must co-operate – what they generally do only very reluctantly. The bone of contention was most recently the question of the so-called “National Roaming”, which enables vendors to have in a specific Region yet have its own cellular network, the networks of competitors.Operators such as Telekom lock.A state’s obligation is not provided. This makes it more difficult for newcomers entry into the Market. The result of less competition is obvious: Germany will remain after the introduction of the 5G Standards a country in the radio holes. Then it is in Autonomous Driving: a self-steer!
Our columnist Frank Sieren has lived for more than 20 years in Beijing.