China's dreams of 5G dominance hit roadblock in Western markets
More countries likely to follow Australia's move to exclude Huawei and ZTE
The remarks came in response to Canberra's decision the same day to ban Huawei Technologies and ZTE from supplying equipment for fifth-generation mobile networks in Australia. The move likely came as a shock to Beijing, which has ambitions to dominate the global telecom market.
The U.S., a close ally of Australia, was probably relieved. The question for China is whether more Western markets follow Canberra's lead.
The new 5G technology promises data transmission speeds 100 times faster than the current generation of mobile networks, allowing users to enjoy faster downloads and video streaming on their smartphones. But perhaps the most important applications for 5G will be in self-driving cars, the internet of things and other emerging technologies for which ultra high-speed communication is crucial.
This is driving telecom carriers around the world to pour money into 5G, to the tune of $10 billion per project, mainly to build infrastructure such as towers and base stations.
Commercialization of 5G mobile networks is expected to be in full swing by the latter half of next year. As governments around the world conduct trial runs of the technology, Canberra has shut out the Chinese operators, citing security concerns. Huawei controls more than half the Australian market in 4G equipment. The government's decision to bar Chinese companies from the 5G market underscores the depth of its worries.
The U.S. is thought to have pushed Australia to block the entry of Chinese 5G equipment suppliers. Japan, on the other hand, may have mixed feelings.
Seiko Noda, Japan's internal affairs and communications minister, and Miao Wei, China's minister of industry and information technology, met in May and said they would promote collaboration between Japanese and Chinese companies on next-generation network technology.
Japan's SoftBank Group is already doing so. It is testing 5G in Japan, together with Huawei. ZTE supplies network gear to Japanese mobile operators NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank. Chinese manufacturers are hoping to use the transition from 4G to 5G to become bigger players in Japan.
Further complicating matters is the dearth of 5G equipment suppliers worldwide. Countries rolling out 4G or 5G have only a handful of suppliers to choose from, including Cisco Systems of the U.S., Sweden's Ericsson, Nokia of Finland, and Huawei or ZTE from China.
Governments and companies on tight budgets "have few options other than to choose overwhelmingly cheap Chinese products," according to one industry insider.
Huawei, in particular, "has drastically cut its development expenses by precisely copying the products of its rival, Cisco," according to a senior manager with a Japanese telecom company. That has enabled the Chinese company to offer unbeatable prices and quickly expand around the world.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has complained that telecom operators charge too much to mobile customers and called for lower monthly fees. Shutting out Chinese suppliers would leave Japanese consumers with fewer choices, and probably higher prices.
Australia has come to the conclusion that the lower costs Chinese manufacturers offer are not worth the risk of data leaks. It is not alone. In addition to the U.S., the U.K., Russia and others also restrict the sale of Chinese telecom equipment.
As the outlook for their exporters darkens, the Global Times, an English-language paper backed by the Chinese Communist Party, published an article in late August saying the Australian ban would not necessarily "cause a domino effect in Western countries." Ironically, this hints at Beijing's nervousness about such an outcome.
More countries likely to follow Australia's move to exclude Huawei and ZTE
The remarks came in response to Canberra's decision the same day to ban Huawei Technologies and ZTE from supplying equipment for fifth-generation mobile networks in Australia. The move likely came as a shock to Beijing, which has ambitions to dominate the global telecom market.
The U.S., a close ally of Australia, was probably relieved. The question for China is whether more Western markets follow Canberra's lead.
The new 5G technology promises data transmission speeds 100 times faster than the current generation of mobile networks, allowing users to enjoy faster downloads and video streaming on their smartphones. But perhaps the most important applications for 5G will be in self-driving cars, the internet of things and other emerging technologies for which ultra high-speed communication is crucial.
This is driving telecom carriers around the world to pour money into 5G, to the tune of $10 billion per project, mainly to build infrastructure such as towers and base stations.
Commercialization of 5G mobile networks is expected to be in full swing by the latter half of next year. As governments around the world conduct trial runs of the technology, Canberra has shut out the Chinese operators, citing security concerns. Huawei controls more than half the Australian market in 4G equipment. The government's decision to bar Chinese companies from the 5G market underscores the depth of its worries.
The U.S. is thought to have pushed Australia to block the entry of Chinese 5G equipment suppliers. Japan, on the other hand, may have mixed feelings.
Seiko Noda, Japan's internal affairs and communications minister, and Miao Wei, China's minister of industry and information technology, met in May and said they would promote collaboration between Japanese and Chinese companies on next-generation network technology.
Japan's SoftBank Group is already doing so. It is testing 5G in Japan, together with Huawei. ZTE supplies network gear to Japanese mobile operators NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank. Chinese manufacturers are hoping to use the transition from 4G to 5G to become bigger players in Japan.
Further complicating matters is the dearth of 5G equipment suppliers worldwide. Countries rolling out 4G or 5G have only a handful of suppliers to choose from, including Cisco Systems of the U.S., Sweden's Ericsson, Nokia of Finland, and Huawei or ZTE from China.
Governments and companies on tight budgets "have few options other than to choose overwhelmingly cheap Chinese products," according to one industry insider.
Huawei, in particular, "has drastically cut its development expenses by precisely copying the products of its rival, Cisco," according to a senior manager with a Japanese telecom company. That has enabled the Chinese company to offer unbeatable prices and quickly expand around the world.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has complained that telecom operators charge too much to mobile customers and called for lower monthly fees. Shutting out Chinese suppliers would leave Japanese consumers with fewer choices, and probably higher prices.
Australia has come to the conclusion that the lower costs Chinese manufacturers offer are not worth the risk of data leaks. It is not alone. In addition to the U.S., the U.K., Russia and others also restrict the sale of Chinese telecom equipment.
As the outlook for their exporters darkens, the Global Times, an English-language paper backed by the Chinese Communist Party, published an article in late August saying the Australian ban would not necessarily "cause a domino effect in Western countries." Ironically, this hints at Beijing's nervousness about such an outcome.
為何要在5G發展中搶得先機？
5G競賽已經開始，勝出的國家勢必會獲得很大的利益。
在世界各地，無線科技巨頭正在與本國政府合作，
美國科技公司稱對中國加征關稅將阻礙美國的5G目標
幾家科技巨頭試圖用白宮的一項首要任務——
澤林視點：“網”已經撒開
在建5G移動通訊標準的全球競爭中，中國正在擴大領先優勢。本台專欄作者Frank Sieren認為，誰想在電子經濟領域扮演角色，就必須立即跟上5G網絡的步伐。
（德國之聲中文網）一場移動通訊的革命正呼嘯而來。一些人甚至稱之為"科技冷戰"。這也許有些誇張，但有一點是肯定的：誰能在新的5G移動通訊標準的全球競爭中佔上風，誰就將成為未來電子經濟領域的主導者。
如果沒有比現在的LTE網絡快100倍的5G計算能力，許多所謂的未來科技都無法實現。比如，沒有飛速傳遞的大量衛星數據和傳感數據，自動駕駛就不安全。同樣，下載速度、流媒體的流暢性和畫面清晰度也會因5G技術而明顯提高。
中國從一開始就站在同樣高度
這是中國首次在一場科技革命中從一開始就站在同樣的水平上，甚至在引進全國性的5G網絡方面還可能領先於發達國家。據美國德勤諮詢公司（Deloitte）的一項研究，中國在這一領域現在就已超過領頭羊美國。中國有超過35萬個支持5G通訊的手機信號塔，是美國的10倍以上。英國諮詢公司Analysis Mason認為，中國的領先地位源於積極的政策和工業騰飛相結合。事實上，目前沒有哪個發達國家比中國具備更好的條件。
本文作者澤林
北京認為，為了讓中國到2025年成為世界科技強國，在所有關鍵的技術領域和西方齊頭並進，5G網絡是關鍵。按照現在的五年計劃，中國政府至2020年將投入4000億建5G網絡。從2015年以來，中國為建5G網絡投入的資金已經比美國多出240億。中國現在已在全國建成了4G網絡，這是快速向5G轉變的一個重要前提。5G應用在中國有著龐大的潛在顧客群，而擴建的費用相對較低。北京可以依靠自己的公司，首先是華為。華為不僅在手機全球銷量方面已經超過蘋果，還是世界領先的通訊設備企業。近10年來，華為一直在研究5G標準，目前還在韓、日、法、意和加拿大等國參與當地的網絡發展。5G網絡在帶寬和速度上的巨大優勢讓所有新技術和新的服務成為可能。實時翻譯、所有家電聯網的智能家居將變得司空見慣。高效的後勤鏈、完全聯網的自動化程序以及將電力輸送所需地點的智能電網也可以實現。這意味著電力成本降低，更多利用太陽能、風能等生態能源。
先行者先制定標準
誰能先實現5G，不僅可獲得巨大利潤，還能決定讓哪些硬件和軟件成為標準，簡言之，決定未來用什麼途徑來進行通訊。5G先驅通過聯網設備積累的數據越多，它在應用中的技術領先地位就發展更快。眾所周知，數據就是21世紀的石油。
尤其是華盛頓不願自己的領先地位受到質疑。特朗普的貿易部長羅斯宣布，建5G網絡是政府首要關注的問題。今年年初曝光的一份美國國家安全委員會的文件寫道，通訊領域強大的中國在"軍事、政治和軍事上"都具有優勢。
特朗普給中國設置路障
美國總統特朗普試圖在中國通往科技強國的道路上設置盡可能多的障礙。去年3月，華盛頓讓新加坡博通公司（Broadcom)收購美國芯片生產商高通（Qualcomm）的計劃化為泡影。白宮表示，這家有中國背景的公司對美國構成安全風險，收購成功後，博通可能會向華為等中國競爭者出售高通的一些部分。這是一個荒唐的邏輯，照此說來，美國也應該在通訊領域向其它國家關閉大門，因為它們也可能將收購的公司再賣給中國人。網絡設備公司中興通訊的發展也被踩了剎車。特朗普政府禁止美國供貨商向這家深圳公司提供部件，導致該公司瀕臨崩潰邊緣。直到最後一刻，特朗普才放了中興一馬。這給北京上了一堂課：中國政府和中興現在將竭盡全力擺脫對美國的依賴。而這不會需要太長時間。
華為因從事涉嫌間諜活動而被美國的網絡市場拒之門外。但德國電信、西班牙電信和英國沃達丰都在歐洲和華為合作，發展5G網絡，因為華為產品的價格比北歐和美國的競爭對手便宜。
歐洲依賴同中國的合作
目前，歐洲在這一問題上和美國已經不在一條陣線上。歐洲需要中國的技術，以避免像LTE標準一樣陷入落後境地。據英國評測公司OpenSignal 的一項研究，在LTE領域，德國在36個歐洲國家中排名第32位，比阿爾巴尼亞還要落後一名。
為了至2025年成為革新領頭羊，德國政府計劃2019年初通過波恩聯邦網絡據拍賣5G移動頻率。之後就該德國電信、沃達丰和西班牙電信等大型網絡運營商採取行動了。為了形成周密的網絡，它們必須進行合作，儘管它們通常不願意這樣做。爭論的焦點現在是所謂的全國漫遊，也就是讓那些在某些地區沒有自己移動網絡的服務商使用競爭對手的網絡。德國電信這樣的運營商反對這樣做。而國家也沒有計劃參與。這讓新的競爭者很難進入市場。缺乏競爭的後果已顯而易見：即便引入5G標準，德國仍然將是一個盲點。也就是說，自動駕駛無法成真，只有自己拿方向盤。
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