JUNE 24 — “5G” is the latest media buzzword. The next-generation technology is expected to guarantee uninterrupted, speedier internet connections, reportedly 100 times faster than the existing 4G network services.
The 5G technology is expected to be rolled out commercially by the end of this year in selected Asian markets, including Australia, China, South Korea and Japan. This will then be followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and India next year.
However, the roll out of 5G has been impacted by the ongoing US-China trade war, in particular the campaign against tech giant Huawei over cybersecurity concerns. Europe has raised fears that its countries will incur a 55 billion euro-loss and an estimated 18-month delay in the 5G launch should the continent impose a ban on buying telco equipment from Huawei.
Japan, New Zealand and Australia have all blocked Huawei from developing their national 5G infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department is exploring opportunities to promote its own tech firms for a 5G roll out in Thailand. Interestingly enough, US companies—namely Qualcomm, Motorola and Lucent—used to be major players in developing Thailand’s telco infrastructure but was edged out by Huawei and Ericsson due to competitive price pressures.
As for Malaysia, our Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stated that the country will continue to use Huawei’s technology.
But is it right for Malaysia to be taking sides in this fight?
As a sovereign country, Malaysia has a right to determine its own affairs, regardless of what Donald Trump thinks.
It should be noted that our leading telco operator Maxis had reached an agreement to accelerate the country’s 5G network roll-out with Huawei.
Axiata, which is Malaysia’s second-largest telco player, has however not decided on a partner for this.
An added complication is its proposed merger with Telenor. Should this occur, Axiata’s hands may be tied in the matter as its not clear how much control Malaysia will have over the new entity and how it decides to approach the 5G question.
Given that Malaysia is not a big country, it might be unwise for us to be caught up in the ongoing (tech) trade war, which may impede and decelerate both our tech and telco industries.
And even if we had a clear sense of who was going to win (and let’s face it, we don’t), there is also the question of whether the 5G technology is worth it in the first place.
What exactly will we be using it for? Its no point having faster connections if all it means is better Netflix viewing and gaming sessions.
It would be alright if we had concrete plans to use 5G to boost our financial services and manufacturing industry, or to contribute to the creation of ground-breaking apps like Indonesia’s Go-Jek or Singapore-based Grab.
Indeed, the prognosis is not good when we consider Malaysia’s use, or rather, misuse of the 4G LTE network.
In Singapore, 4G was utilized by SBS Transit to provide real-time updates on bus and rail arrivals via its SBS Transit app.
Malaysia, in contrast, has arguably yet to utilize this technology to truly benefit its people despite almost all of us having sophisticated smartphones.
We seem to prefer to simply be passive users of the technological wonders of our age rather than harnessing them to make strides in fields such healthcare, energy, mining, farming and security.
This is very disheartening when one considers that our institutions of higher learning produce thousands of IT graduates every year.
So really, if we cannot truly make use of 5G, what’s the point of Malaysia getting involved in this superpower clash?
** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
