On February 6, the Financial Times bannered a scoop under this headline: “Donald Trump ‘apoplectic’ in call with Boris Johnson over Huawei.”
The argument was over the decision of the British prime minister to allow the Chinese-government-controlled tech manufacturer Huawei to participate in Britain’s next-generation cellular network, known worldwide as 5G. In other words, the United Kingdom has just made an enormous decision, full of consequences for not only the U.K., but also for the U.S.
5G, of course, is the new big thing in tech; it will accelerate the speed of Internet networks by a hundred-fold. And as such, 5G will be in the middle of every communication and every transaction. 5G also includes the Internet of Things, which has the potential to link together just about any object, man-made or natural, in a “smart network.” That will be great for manufacturing, inventory, logistics—and, oh yes, for better or worse, for surveillance.
Moreover, 5G will reach deep into the military; the vital variables of situational awareness and command-and-control—governing everything from missile defense to satellite surveillance to nuclear deterrence—will be shaped by 5G.
Yet most of this is in the future, because the 5G hardware, including stations and routers, has yet to be purchased and installed. And when it is, that will be a multi-hundred-billion-dollar infusion for the seller, as well as a huge security vulnerability for the purchaser.
Thus the idea that Huawei, which is nothing more than a cat’s paw for the People’s Liberation Army of China, could soon be making Britain’s 5G equipment is, indeed, alarming.
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