About the author: Sarah Sewal He is executive vice president of IQT, a nonprofit strategic investor in support of U.S. national security. Dr. Sewall previously served as Under Secretary of State, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and faculty member at Harvard Kennedy School.
Before the US government wised up, Chinese telecommunications company Huawei seemed destined to dominate the world’s fifth-generation communications infrastructure. The campaign, which began in 2019 with the aim of undermining Huawei’s success, followed recognition of the dangers of China’s control over critical foreign communications. While the China threat was real, the global transition to 5G also highlighted the absence of American companies that could offer attractive alternatives to Huawei.
The impending transition to 6G has implications. Next-generation communications promise higher frequencies, capacity, speed, and wider coverage, and are generally expected to be widespread by 2030. With 6G, space will play a bigger role, creating new opportunities for U.S. companies. However, challenges will arise in ensuring open technology architecture and commercial competition.
The United States is still working with American companies to introduce openness principles into today’s land-based 5G infrastructure. Leading Provider – Nokia
,
Ericsson
,
Huawei and Huawei have long provided proprietary end-to-end 5G systems, making it difficult for innovative startups to introduce new technology. The concept known as Open Radio Access Networks (ORAN) requires that critical radio access networks be virtualized (using software) and isolated (using plug-and-play components). Major 5G providers in Europe and the US have also adopted his ORAN.
This is good news. Interoperability and competition should mean more innovation, better security, and better services. Openness could reduce China’s ability to control, extract information from, or even disable China’s national communications system. Congress also created a fund to help U.S. companies compete in his ORAN. But progress remains slow, and space is rapidly becoming the new telecommunications frontier.
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Space-enabled communication systems are already enhancing infrastructure on the ground. Starlink uses low-orbit satellites to provide internet access, without which Ukraine cannot protect itself. T-Mobile is partnering with his Starlink to fill wireless dead zones, foreshadowing a future where cell phones can move seamlessly between terrestrial and satellite phone coverage.Amazon
‘s
Project Kuiper similarly aims to provide broadband access to users in maritime, desert, and other areas where terrestrial infrastructure is lacking. These systems can serve citizens in developing countries without reliable broadband and provide emergency access during disasters and crises.
The Chinese government also has ambitions for this new aspect of communication. Plans to build a large constellation of low-orbit communications satellites have yet to materialize, but the speed of China’s technological progress could once again surprise the West. Last fall, Huawei began selling phones that use short messaging through China’s equivalent of the U.S. GPS satellite system. This is likely just the beginning of integrating commercial products with national space capabilities.
Mobile and internet services will be integrated following Beijing’s Belt and Road Development Initiative. Together, these will bind the participating countries in a web of infrastructure and economic ties that support technological security vulnerabilities and China’s political influence. There is no doubt that China’s space services will seek to enhance Huawei’s unique approach and provide integrated services that can be monitored and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
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To mitigate these risks, the United States must now work with industry to extend ORAN principles into space and promote technologies that support openness. The pressing question is how best to link space communications with a vast array of terrestrial networks without enabling stovepipe duplication of exclusive technologies. It is essential to extend software-defined and virtualized networks, develop new standardized interfaces, and use AI to manage resources and seamlessly coordinate networks on the ground and in space.
Despite Starlink’s position as a leading pioneer in space communications, pursuing a unique approach that would plague 5G would be counterproductive to U.S. policy. Officials should also encourage multiple U.S. competitors to avoid domestic single points of failure, and the United States should welcome Europe’s desire to develop space communications capabilities.
Just as important, U.S. companies and their voices, along with those of their foreign partners, must advance ground-space connectivity standards that foster competition through openness and interoperability. The United States and nine allied governments took a step toward this goal by endorsing common principles for 6G in February. Industry and governments must work concretely and collaboratively to shape the next global standards, including the Third Generation Partnership Project, which establishes protocols for the next wave of telecommunications.
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Geostrategic competitors are sure to strengthen commercial technology moats and drive standards that protect industry leaders. But even if U.S. companies are in a better position to transition to space communications, the United States has an obligation to remain true to the principles that Huawei championed as it moved toward space communications. Openness and competition benefit the best innovators. And innovation is America’s superpower. The United States most effectively advances economic, political, and security leadership by promoting a level playing field from which all can benefit.
These guest comments are written by authors outside of Barron’s newsroom. They reflect the views and opinions of the author. Suggestions for explanations or other feedback are welcome at ideas@barrons.com.
