The era of 5th generation wireless is on the way. The biggest names in telecommunications, as well as their home countries, are investing heavily in 5G to ensure they have the biggest voice in setting the still-unformulated technological standard. The winners will reap billions of dollars in patent fees as well as a dominant position in the market for their own 5G technologies. China is well-positioned to have a greater voice this time thanks to its huge investment in telecommunications enterprises and their advanced technology.
The U.S. has made substantial inroads into 5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems (5G).
U.S. President Barack Obama announced on July 14 that the U.S. government will grant $400 million to support the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, according to the White House website.
The website described some of the technology's potential benefits for mobile users, such as downloading full-length, high-definition movies in five seconds - 100 times faster than on a 4G connection.
It also told of how the technology could provide first responders and emergency room doctors with real-time videos and sensor data from police vehicles, including patient vitals and medical records, well before the patient arrives at the hospital.
"There can be little doubt that the U.S.'s big budget is meant to help the country control the next generation of mobile technology," said Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the Mobile China Alliance.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler said as much at a congressional subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, according to a report in the newspaper USA Today.
"5G can put this country, its manufacturers, its entrepreneurs and innovators on … a home-field advantage," he said.
The U.S. shares this ambition with just about every other country - China included - with a high-powered telecommunications sector. Setting a 5G standard is about a lot more than just coming up with a set of criteria for a new technology. It's also about money.
Those with a bigger say in formulating the international standard for 5G will reap quite a few benefits, Wang said.
"The standard is made up of numerous patents," he said. "Enterprises with a voice can collect a large number of patent fees. In addition, they can obtain greater market share due to their advanced technology and early entry into the market."
"Along with the patent fees, the companies who influence the standard can earn profits by selling their products," said Chen Wei, a senior consultant at the Beijing-based investment consultancy China Venture.
The promise of 5G
The world's major powers and major global communications companies have all been working on 5G technologies in recent years. The standard promises big things for users.
So far, most of the public attention has focused on 5G's speed. And rightly so. 5G will provide users with data transfer speeds that are 10 to 100 times faster than 4G, according to the FCC.
However, the technology's ability to connect with all manner of devices might be far more important, Wang said.
"4G mainly applies to mobile communications, but the application of 5G will be far broader. It will expand mobile data connections to cars and the Internet of Things," he told the Global Times on Tuesday.
There is a huge market for the Internet of Things, China Mobile Vice President Li Huidi said on June 29 at an industry summit in Shanghai.
By the end of 2020, there will be 50 billion devices connected to the Internet around the world, 10 billion of which will be in China, Li noted.
