EVENTS Mobile World Congress
“Folding phones are all well and good, but 5G is beyond a hot topic. As it becomes less far-off fantasy, more
imminent reality, Channel players are quickly realising that 5G is a critical consideration for anyone looking to
Mobile World Congress
What do you get if you put the world’s biggest names in telecoms, mobile and IT in a room with 109,000 visitors? The
Mobile World Congress! Comms Business reported directly from the event.
If you like consuming tech
innovations MWC is
probably the best technology
buet out there right now.
Unfortunately the show’s biggest
sponsor, Huawei, came into the
event experiencing a lot of heat
from the mainstream press over
security concerns surrounding its
network equipment.
e GSMA has proposed its
members discuss the possibility
of Huawei’s exclusion from
the rollout of 5G networks
in key markets, including the
UK. e USA has made their
position clear, now Europe
could follow suit with a
complete ban or at least limit
the company’s inuence on their
communications infrastructure.
e fear has been spawned from
perceived links with the Chinese
government and the potential for
Huawei to be forced to comply
with national interests rather
than business objectives. Above
all, global governments fear the
possibility of backdoors planted
into equipment which could be
used for espionage.
e show was the perfect
place to address these issues and
not one to shy away from the
attention, Huawei demanded
evidence of wrong-doing and
released a statement during the
week that they do not, and will
never, put back doors into their
systems.
Guo Ping – rotating Huawei
Chairman opened his speech on
stage with “ere has never been
more interest in Huawei.”… and
then he started swinging.
Guo referred to the US
National Security Agency in his
speech, having been exposed
for collecting data from internet
providers after the infamous
Edward Snowden blew the
whistle. Not satised with leaving
things there Guo went on to
mention the Cloud Act, a piece
of legislation which allowed
the NSA to collect data across
borders. He noted that the US
government has not provided
evidence the Chinese government
can access its communications
equipment.
You could hear the room
sniggering, he had made an
exceptional point.
Mariya Gabriel, the European
commissioner for digital
economy and society said that her
organisation recognised the need
for a common approach to 5G
cybersecurity.
“I’m well aware of the unrest
among all of you key actors in
the telecommunications sector
caused by the ongoing decisions
on the cybersecurity of 5G”, she
said. “Let me reassure you the
Commission takes your views
very serious because you need to
run these systems every day.”
“Nobody is helped by
premature decisions based on
partial analysis of the facts.
However, it is also clear that
Europe has to have a common
approach to this challenge,
and we need to bring it to the
table soon otherwise there is
a risk that fragmentation rises
because of divergent decisions
taken by member states trying to
protect themselves. We all know
that fragmentation damages
the digital single market. So,
therefore, we are working on this
important matter with priority
and the Commission will take
steps soon.”
The 5G ‘Game Changer’
Despite the controversy
surrounding Huawei that didn’t
stop the 5G debate hotting up,
perhaps it was the friction from
Cisco and Ericsson rubbing their
hands together!
e advent of 5G will extend a
digital connection to almost every
facet of our lives. e futuristic
use cases include autonomous
vehicles, AR/VR immersive
experiences, smart cities, ultralow
latency which all sounds very
impressive, yet not everyone
agrees on the real world impact of
the technology.
Richard Williams, Groupon
Chief, dismissed the technology
and said the ‘real revolution’
has come from the innovations
in smartphones and mobile
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44 | Comms Business Magazine | April 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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April.ai 3 14/03/2019 14:31:49
develop new solutions or devices…” Bernie McPhillips, Sales Director at Pangea
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