*ISLAMABAD – The recent diplomatic dust-up over Chinese telecoms companyHuawei, one of the leaders in developing equipment for fifth-generationmobile networks, has demonstrated that this technology which promises toenable an internet of things and self-driving vehicles also poses risks.*
What is 5G, what will it be able to do, and what are the risks?
*What is 5G?*
5G stands for the fifth generation of mobile network technology, whichshould begin to be rolled out in 2020 in Asia and the United States.
Each generation has offered improvements in data transmission speed andcapacity, and with 5G the networks are really set to make the transitionfrom telephony to other objects.
*What will it be able to do?*
The much vaunted internet of things has so far been hobbled by thelimitations of mobile networks, both in terms of transmission speeds ofhandsets and the fact the backbone of networks hadn’t been expandedsufficiently in many cases to handle huge volumes of data.
With 5G, transmission speeds should accelerate sufficiently to allow forself-driving cars to take to the roads or for doctors to conduct operationsremotely.
It will also cut the cord on augmented and virtual reality.
The ability to connect more sensors will help make many services“intelligent”, such as helping manage traffic flow and telling thesanitation department when garbage bins need to be emptied.
Industry is in particular looking forward to 5G to reinvent manufacturingand allow it to monitor all sorts of processes.
*Why does 5G pose security risks?*
The first reason is that more data and more types of data will betravelling across 5G networks. Much of the data transmitted by sensorscould be sensitive, such as information about manufacturing processes thatbusiness rivals would be interested in acquiring. Or the data from ourhomes that could be gleaned to determine all sorts of things about us. Thetreasure chest of data for hackers is getting much, much bigger.
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A second reason is that an increased reliance on the mobile network meansits disruption would have even more serious consequences, both in terms ofsafety and economic activity. A failure during a remotely guided operationcould lead to the death of a patient or a crash of a self-driving car. Alonger outage could disrupt an economy. This poses national security risks.
While the diplomatic spat over the arrest of Huawei’s chief financialofficer was based on accusations the firm violated US sanctions on Iran,the United States has longstanding concerns about Chinesetelecommunications equipment being a Trojan horse for Beijing’sintelligence and military.
Huawei is a major manufacturer of equipment used to build 5G networks, andthe US defence establishment fears it could enable it to disrupt Americanmilitary communications or otherwise wage asymmetrical warfare in aconfrontation.
The United States has essentially barred use of Huawei equipment indomestic networks, as have Australia and New Zealand, with other countriesconsidering following suit.
*Deliverance or disappointment?*
The promises are always hyped, but the delivery is often a disappointment.Early buyers of 4G smartphones were often let down: their handsets couldhandle nippy speeds but the backbone of networks were often not yet bulkedup to handle the higher data flow.
Operators have now built up the capacity of their backbone networks, but if5G is to keep its promise the number of base stations needed is enormous.Otherwise, users will be forced back onto slower networks.
Meanwhile operators are having to invest billions to roll out 5G, which isan issue because competition in many countries has hemmed in pricescompanies can charge consumers.
While most analysts believe operators will in the end be able to financebuilding the new networks, they may not initially be dense enough to handlesome of the most anticipated applications.
Building a dense network of base stations along highways to handleself-driving vehicles will be a costly endeavour, for example, andoperators may find themselves seeking partners from users of new services.- APP/AFP
