A lot has been said about 5G, and everyone who is interested in technology knows about the benefits that it can bring to the life of everyone and entire countries. The United States was among those who realized that the emergence of fifth-generation networks opens up new opportunities for the economy; and many areas will receive a powerful impetus for development. And here it is extremely important who will dominate in its development and implementation.
In America, all operators rushed to build 5G networks; and the White House began to help them by pressure and destruction of the largest players – Huawei and ZTE. But all these attempts in the end turned out to be meaningless and did not bring the desired result. In the US, there is a total backlog in the creation and development of infrastructure for 5G networks, the leadership has gone to China. Low data transfer rates, lack of noticeable coverage, high operating costs – these are all problems that American cellular operators are struggling with.
And this is not the opinion of the townsfolk or the enemies of America. The notion that the United States is hopelessly behind China on 5G was voiced in an article jointly published in The Wall Street Journal by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Harvard University professor Graham Ellison. They suggested that the US is now “far behind in virtually all areas of 5G while others, including China, are at the forefront.”
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The US lags behind China in 5G despite the pathetic attempts
The authors of the article emphasized that the movement towards 5G super speeds; will lead to a breakthrough in various fields and industries that are yet to emerge. The benefits of fifth-generation network technology will be especially clear in the military sphere.
The article provided a comparison of download speeds in Chinese and American networks. So, in the third quarter of last year, the median download speed in China was 299 Mbps; but in the US – 93.73 Mbps. While there are 100,000 5G base stations deployed in the states, China already has over a million 5G base stations. “The scary thing is that 5G can be weaponized, which the Chinese seem to be intent on doing with 6G. The battle for 6G will no doubt be important, but the battle for 5G is happening now.”
Eric Schmidt and Graham Ellison expressed the opinion that if China continues to develop at the current pace; and stick to the adopted strategies; then in 2030 there is a chance that China will overtake the United States in the field of chip production.
“America’s pathetic achievements in the 5G race are a sign of America’s failure; to keep up with China in strategically important technologies. China is also ahead of America in high-tech manufacturing, green energy, and many AI applications.
