5G

Viettel announced that it will soon start the country’s first 5G pilot in Hanoi in cooperation with Ericsson. This is a big deal, because 5G is the future of telecommunications and will likely change whole industries. Plus, there is the geopolitical dimension, with China at the forefront of the technology, and state-owned Huawei leading the charge. (The supposition that Huawei is state-owned is contested, but seems pretty clear to me that it is state-owned, see the paper linked.)

SOURCE: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

The Philippines and Thailand are both countries that are opting to use Huawei equipment, while the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are trying to stop them and other countries from doing so.

Vietnam is actually a place where Huawei has been unsuccessful. The three major telecom networks are not using Huawei technology, and Viettel, the largest carrier and the one that has moved abroad into 10 other countries, is trying to build its own equipment.

What is all the hullabaloo with 5G?

People are excited about 5G because it is seen as the future of technology. If you look at the changes in tech over the past 5 years, so much of it has been due to advancement of mobile phones and 4G/LTE speeds as the phone has become the central repository for…well, everything. Payments, internet, email, advertising, social, etc.

5G should continue this advancement because it is better in three areas:

TOP 5G STANDARD-ESSENTIAL PATENTS (BASICALLY THE PATENTS THAT WILL COST YOU). SOURCE: IPLYTICS GMBH

Faster speeds: 5G is significantly faster than what is out there currently (4G also called LTE – good explanation here). That will mean much faster video download speeds, and generally faster speeds for everything. Right now that means video, including virtual reality, but will likely be much more over time.

Capacity: 5G also increases capacity. The expectation is that more and more devices will be connected to these networks, and many of them will not be traditional mobile phones but rather things like speakers, refrigerators, watches, cars. These together are known as the Internet of Things, and 5G allows all of these devices to connect.

Ultra-low latency: This is “the time it takes one device to send a packet of data to another device.” It takes much less time over 5G than under current technology. This is especially important for cars, which may need to connect to another device to know about upcoming traffic. In the VOX article linked above, the example is sensors that let your car know that an accident has happened ahead, allowing your car to brake.

TOP COMPANIES MAKING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE 5G STANDARD. SOURCE: IPLYTICS GMBH

But the real impact from 5G will take some time to know. For example, the shift from desktop to mobile computing took years and continues today. I find myself using my phone for more and more things as they get better.

What is the role of China in this?

Ultimately, China wants to set the standard for all communications going forward, just like the US did a big part in setting the standards for the internet and mobile phones. They are doing this is by investing a great deal into 5G development, not only in building equipment (that they have been successful in selling) but also in developing the standards and the intellectual property behind 5G. Huawei has made the most technical contributions to the 5G standard of any company (US companies are way down there). And they have the second most patents considered essential for 5G (see chart up to the right).

In some ways, setting the standard is just money. They set the standard that utilizes their patents, and users need to pay the patent holders. This can be lucrative, but isn’t the real reason that the US is concerned. The US appears more worried that Huawei’s equipment will be used to nefarious purposes politically, like shutting down communications in countries that are opposed to China. Probably from experience, since the NSA built backdoors into security protocols. Of course these backdoors backfired, since some hackers found out about them and used them for their own purposes.

Basically, the US is worried that China will do the same thing that it did, but against the US. Seems like a legitimate fear. And not just for the US, other countries aren’t excited about China haven’t control over their communications. But the fact that the US has done this since WWII does put the US in an awkward position. “Don’t let China do what I did.“

Right now, Vietnam is fine going along with the US line. Probably because they have long been concerned about Chinese influence, but also to help promote their ties to the US.

I’ll continue to follow the progress of 5G in Vietnam. It’s exciting and could mean a lot for the country. If the infrastructure is built out quickly, it could really help them advance ahead of their developing country neighbors.