While researchers have gone for 6G (5G and beyond) the US has decided to fund companies to compete with Huawei 5G! Still in the crosshairs of the United States, which has not frankly succeeded in dissuading their allied countries from providing at home equipment for 5G, Huawei and ZTE may not be at the end of their troubles. Parliamentarians have formulated a bill to finance the development of Western alternatives to Chinese telecom technologies, up to $ 1.25 billion.
A group of American parliamentarians, made up of Democratic and Republican senators, proposed a law Tuesday January 14, 2020 so that the federal government financially supports the development of “Western alternatives to the equipment of Chinese Huawei and ZTE ” . The United States would pay up to $ 1.25 billion. A way, according to these politicians who express fears for the national economy and security, to compensate for the important public subsidy granted to these companies by the Beijing government . Yet another measure when the United States has failed to push the allied countries to boycott the Chinese giants.
FINANCING AND RULES
The bill, titled Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications, aims to “encourage competition against Huawei by capitalizing on American technological advantages and accelerating the adoption of an open architecture (O-RAN) , which would allow suppliers to enter the specific network components market . ” In detail, the text proposes that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) release $ 750 million – or 5% of its annual budget – to create a fund dedicated to R&D in mobile technologies and managed by an agency of the Department of Trade. The proposal also encourages the creation of a multilateral fund, financed with foreign partners and endowed with a budget of $ 500 million.
The implementation of a transition plan is also planned to help telecom operators of small size to buy future equipment compatible with the standards thus adopted. Parliamentarians also want to strengthen the weight of the United States in international standardization bodies and for the FCC to harmonize its frequency allocation procedure so as to ” create new opportunities for equipment manufacturers, while promoting economies of scale” .
“The decisions we make today around 5G will be felt over the decades to come. If the massive adoption of this technology has the potential to revolutionize the business world, it brings its own risks to national security. It would be disastrous if Huawei, which operates on behalf of the Chinese government, army and intelligence, seizes this market without being controlled. This text will help to maintain the competitive advantage and the integrity of the United States. , encouraging Westerners to develop innovative, accessible and safe alternatives, ” said Republican Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
TELECOM SUPPLIERS AND OPERATORS WELCOME THE TEXT
If the Democrats are united with the Republicans against the Chinese giants, they do, however, share differences over the conduct to adopt vis-à-vis Western countries. “The Trump administration is moralizing to our allies about the risks they face in relying on Chinese technology rather than working to replace it ,” said Senator Bob Menendez, member of the Committee on International Relations. ” This law, which will provide resources for the private sector, is the long-awaited first step in the right direction. As I said before, confronting China does not mean the same as competing with it.”
The industry has welcomed the bill with enthusiasm. “We support this text to move towards open and virtualized infrastructures, which will accelerate the integration and deployment of 5G while reducing costs. It will reinforce American innovation in the field of mobile technologies and provide telecom operators with options safer to build their network, ” responded VMware through the voice of Allwyn Sequeira, vice president of telecom and cloud products. Beyond the suppliers, the telecom operators also seem to find their account there.”Communications security is central to the economic prosperity of our nation. It requires industry, government and residents to work together to build and maintain standards. We are at the disposal of Congress to this measure is successful, ” said Robert Fisher, vice president in charge of federal government relations at Verizon.
Note that other players intend to capitalize on Huawei’s difficulties. The South Korean Samsung has, for example, bought TeleWold Solutions to launch into the 5G network infrastructure in the United States . The coming months will be crucial for the future of the sector.
