President Donald Trump's national security team is examining all options to counter China's threat of spying on US phone calls, including those from the government.
The option is 5G super-fast wireless networking, an administration official said today. The official, confirming the existence of a report from Axios.com, said the option was discussed at a low level in the administration and that there are about six to eight months to be presented to the president himself.
The 5G network concept aims to address what officials consider under Chinese threat, from computer security to US economic security.
The Trump administration has taken a tougher line on the policies initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama on issues related to Beijing's role in the international arena. China's unwillingness to crack down on North Korea and aggression to take over strategic US industries.
Earlier this month, AT&T was forced to withdraw a commercial plan to offer its customers Huawei-built phones in China after members of Congress lobbied the authority for federal regulators, sources said. to Reuters.
In 2012, Huawei and ZTE Corp were the subject of a US investigation into whether their equipment offered a foreign espionage opportunity to a US strategic infrastructure.
Some members of the House intelligence committee have been troubled by the national security threats from Huawei and ZTE. A report by the aforementioned 2012 committee on Chinese enterprises reports that the Chinese have "never stopped" their spying activity.
"We want to build a network so that the Chinese cannot listen to phone calls," the senior official told Reuters. "We must have a secure net that prevents it from being punctured." We must also ensure that the Chinese do not take control of the telephony market, this would compromise the 5G network project ”.
The main wireless operators have spent billions of dollars to buy the spectrum and be able to launch 5G networks, and it is unclear whether the US government is in time to buy portions of the spectrum to build its 5G network.
In addition, Accenture has estimated that wireless operators will invest up to $ 275 billion in the United States for seven years when they build the 5G network.
Last year, T-Mobile US Inc spent $ 8 billion and Dish Network Corp $ 6,2 billion to grab most of the radio wave spectrum for sale in a government auction.
An AT&T spokesperson said they couldn't comment on something they didn't see, and added: "Thanks to multi-billion dollar investments by US companies, the work to launch the 5G service in the US is already almost a reality."
This year, AT&T will be the first to roll out 5G mobile service in 12 US locations, the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Verizon declined to comment. The representatives of Sprint and T-Mobile did not respond immediately to requests for comments.
Another option includes having a 5G network built by a consortium of wireless operators, the US official said.
"We want to build a secure 5G network and we need to work with the industry to figure out the best way to do this," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Axios has published documents that come from a presentation by a National Security Council official. If the government had built the network, it would have leased access to carriers, Axios said.
An incumbent concern exposed in the presentation was China's growing presence in the production and operation of wireless networks. A concerted government push could help the United States to compete on that front, according to the presentation.
A 5G network is expected to offer significantly faster speeds, greater capacity and shorter response times, which could be used for new technologies ranging from driverless cars to remote clinics. Telecom companies and their suppliers see it as a multi-billion dollar earning opportunity.