indiaanditsneighboursJULY 08, 2019 News the Newsbehind 19
In arrangement with South Asia
Monitor
INDIA - CHINA: HUAWEI AND
THE GREAT DIGITAL BATTLE
In an advisory to the Indian
government in the fi rst half of June,
the United States wrote against
purchasing the fi fth-generation or 5G
telecom gear from Huawei. India is
yet to decide on this issue, which is
one among the many it has with the
US.
India is rightly cautious in its
approach so far because the potential
impact of 5G technology will be
massive, unlike the world has seen so
far. 5G is not just another spectrum
upgrade, like 2G to 4G. In fact,
writes Pranab Dhal Samanta, Deputy
Executive Editor of The Economic
Times, “the general consensus is that
the impact on the mobile phone use
experience is not even its principal
fallout. If 4G allows connectivity to
10,000 people per square kilometre,
then 5G could make it three
million.......
“The applications for 5G will
be on systems and machines that
run facilities — they will allow for
the creation of intelligent hardware
that will aff ect transport, healthcare,
robotics, defence items, electricity
grids and other basic infrastructure.
It’s 5G technology that will inform
smart city initiatives, connectivity
and impart modern facilities like
remote medical surgery to rural areas.
Essentially, 5G will be central to new
models of governance.”
China has taken the lead in 5G
through Huawei. Ever since the US
imposed restrictions on Huawei
over security risks, experts are closely
monitoring the Indian policy. It is
not not yet fully equipped — both
technologically and commercially —
to shape the global conversation.
Although this is the time to
forge partnerships in developing the
technology of the future, Samanta
warns on trusting China on 5G.
“Because this would mean allowing
Chinese technology to form the
bedrock of your new cities, transport
and electricity networks among severalother key applications.”
Samanta also says that “the
sanctity of ‘no backdoor agreements’
is questionable. Th e Chinese Cyber
Security Law of 2016 and the National
Intelligence law of 2017 have clauses
that allow for the Chinese government
to ensure compliance by the Chinese
companies dealing with data. Also,
communist party cells are reportedly
being created in all major Chinese
companies. In other words, Chinese
commercial entities are joined at the
hip with the Chinese government and
the communist party. Th is can still be
overlooked on, say, the 4G network,
which largely relates to mobile phone
usage. But can such a risk be taken
with 5G?”
A DIGITALAL NON-
ALIGNMENT WORLD
The danger from 5G is bigger
than this. According to a leaked US
government document, if China
dominates telecommunication globally
— and Hauwei indeed tops in 5G
technology, it “will win politically,
economically, and militarily”. China
is also closing in on the Artificial
Intelligence (AI) gap, as reports emerge
that not only China produces more AI
research, its quality is also set to soon
surpass that of the US’s.
Global digital off erings, writes Jeet
Singh (with Bangalore based NGO,
IT for Change) “would increasingly
organise, and split, around the
two global digital poles of US and
China. Th ey are also becoming more
integrated right from computing
chips, network equipment and user
devices to software, applications and
AI. Every other country will have
to choose between the two digital
superpowers as its primary digital
supplier, and get increasingly locked
into it.
“It is scary to imagine such a
digitally split world. Countries willDIGITAL POLICYMAKING
With a view to harnessing new
technologies that off er monumental
opportunities, and to ensure that
digital technologies are a force for
good, António Guterres, Secretary-
General, United Nations, established
a High-level Panel on Digital
Cooperation, which has just issued
its report (https://digitalcooperation.
org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/
DigitalCooperation-report-for-web.
pdf ).
Led by Melinda Gates of the
Gates Foundation and Jack Ma of
Alibaba, the panel brought together
diverse experts who consulted
globally, debated vigorously and
examined a wide spectrum of
challenges, and put forward detailed
recommendations for eliciting the
best of new technologies.
Secretary-General, United
Nations in an article write “Th e panel
has recommended ways to close the
digital divide, increase cooperation,
and better govern digital technology
development through open, agile,
and multi-stakeholder models.
Classical forms of governance do
not apply. Technology moves so fast
that, by the time decision makers
gather to prepare, discuss, approve,
ratify and implement a convention
or new agreement, the landscape
has changed entirely. Analogue
policymaking won’t work in a digital
world.’