La 5G war come alive. Telephony is the new battlefield of international risk: it is there that the two superpowers China and the USA clash, as if it were a new Cold War, while in the background the European Union and Great Britain occupy a non-marginal role, which has just left the chessboard of the Old Continent and is approaching US President Donald Trump. For this very reason, it caused a sensation Boris Johnson's move: the winner of the last British elections, supporter of Brexit and personal friend of the tycoon, surprised everyone by authorizing the entry of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in the development of the ultra-fast 5G data-telephone network across the Channel.
However, the Johnson government has set limits: Huawei will not have access to the coverage of military or nuclear sites, nor to the "core" of the network, i.e. to its central infrastructure, but only "peripheral" accesses, and in any case will be able to control a maximum of 35% of its technical componentssuch as antennas. Guarantees that are not enough for the Americans: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke of a "risk of espionage" and Washington is about to put more than 2 billion dollars into the field to try to stem the expansion of Huawei, which up to now, however, is the operator with the objectively most advanced and moreover cheap technology. According to the hypotheses being studied by US parliamentarians, up to one billion could be allocated to finance small operators and dismantle the Chinese 5G antennas already installed.
Another abundant billion could even be allocated - to make it clear how much the US cares - to support Western partners in their research and development on 5G. In short, about 750 million would already be ready for push the competition from the various Nokia, Ericsson and above all Samsung. Finally, around half a billion would be disbursed to developing countries to build new infrastructures and make them, so to speak, safe and "friendly". In fact, the Americans are increasingly convinced that letting China build such a strategic infrastructure (capable of making robotics and artificial intelligence work, among many things) means exposing themselves to serious dangers, but at the same time it is undeniable that the American industry is either absent or lagging behind in this technological revolution and challenge.
And Europe? In order not to do anyone an injustice, Brussels has chosen the so-called path of the "toolbox", i.e. of diversification. The document, which will have to be drafted by April 30 of this year, will take into account a series of measures that the Member States are called upon to implement to guarantee new generation mobile network infrastructures. And to avoid critical and "dependency" situations, Europe suggests a multi-vendor approach, as reiterated Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the EU Commission and Commissioner for Competition: “With 5G we can do great things. But only if we secure our networks. Only then will digital changes benefit all citizens.”
What about Huawei? In the meantime, appreciation for the EU's position comes from China, not unlike that of the United Kingdom: "Huawei welcomes the European decision - explains a note -, which allows Huawei to continue to participate in the development of 5G in Europe. This unbiased and fact-based approach to 5G security enables Europe to have a safer and faster 5G network. Huawei has been present in Europe for about 20 years and has a proven track record in terms of security. We will continue to work with European governments and industry to develop common standards to strengthen network security and reliability."
