Daily Times

Monaco is a small country in Europe but it has set off ripples worldwide in recent times. It has become the first European country to adopt 5G technology introduced to the world by Chinese company Huawei. The development has once again refreshed the US opposition to Huawei on the pretext of security.

After Monaco, the US has announced that its companies will offer their own version of 5G very soon in the market. Interestingly, US defence and commerce officials say the US will ‘leverage’ private capital to speed up America’s development of 5G solutions. Hence, it is not going to be a usual market competition between different companies, rather it will be a clash of titans involving the US and China. On the face of it, it seems that the US has missed the bus. The world’s richest technology market is Europe which has been pulling together to break free of fears while making decisions about future solutions. Though Monaco is the first European country to adopt the next-generation 5G mobile phone network fully, some other countries have also adopted this technology partially.

The technology offers super-fast wireless access and greater data transfer speeds. Monaco Telecom that introduced this service to the small European country is owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel. It is a safe calculation that the successful adventure will encourage France to adopt 5G in the days to come. Chinese firm Huawei sees it as a foothold to climb European market. Many non-European countries have already finalised a rollout with Huawei.

If China is offering smart solutions to our problems, it should be encouraged. Such issues should not be politicised for the greater good of humanity. Huawei has time and again denied that their technology will be used by the Chinese military for espionage, as has been charged by the US. In addition, Washington has not yet substantiated its accusations with evidence. The company has signed 50 contracts worldwide, including 28 with European operators, for 5G. In non-European states, South Korea has announced complete nationwide 5G coverage while in Europe smaller nations like Switzerland, Finland and Estonia have only just started deploying the technology. Germany is only now handing out frequencies to operators. The cost of US blockage of Huawei for European operators is estimated to be up to 55 billion euros ($62 billion). In addition to this cost, the productivity gap between the technology-haves and have-nots will also widen, which will further enhance inequalities. However, harder the US may have tried to declare the new technology as a security risk, Monaco has proved that the nations of the world know better about their needs. *