February 14, 2022
It’s Not Just 5G: China’s Telecom Strategy Needs to Be Countered in Space
Over the last five years, the security implications of China’s 5G proliferation have received a steady amount of attention. But there is a lesser-discussed, increasingly important side of technological competition between the US and China: Beijing’s growing involvement in the many other critical components and technologies that power the future of global telecommunications, from the depths of the oceans to outer space.
Advanced technologies that will ride on top of 5G networks — such as robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and video surveillance cameras — could prove vulnerable. But so too can backhaul, subsea cables, mobile applications, and mobile devices that all contribute to the global telecommunications network. China has increased state investment in these areas, with an eye on controlling the networks that data is transported on and, potentially, access that critical data.
The Biden administration needs to look up to space to provide a counter for China’s telecommunications plan.
China is approaching these with the same stance they have taken towards 5G — that domination is needed across the board. And unlike America, where the various communications technology sectors tend to run parallel but separate, China is seeking to intertwine everything, an important strategy that could give them a leg up on the US unless Washington can switch its thinking and take countering actions.
The good news: it’s not too late to take action, and in one crucial domain, the US still has dominance. As previously disassociated technologies begin to overlap, 5G applications through the space domain will be the connective tissue. Washington must prepare for this new frontier of technological competition by taking several steps to change the current thinking.
Read the full article from Breaking Defense.
More from CNAS
-
Technology & National Security
Microsoft Announcement Highlights Complicated Relationship Between Big Tech and WarMicrosoft restricted the Israeli military's access to some of its technology after it found that Israel's Defense Ministry was using its services to carry out mass surveillanc...
By Paul Scharre
-
Technology & National Security
Quantum Sensing at Scale: Navigating Commercialization RoadblocksQuantum sensing is racing forward in the lab—but turning prototypes into products still means wrestling with supply chains, certification, and unit economics. In “Quantum Sens...
By Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante
-
Technology & National Security
Constanza Bustamante, Research Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Joins the Superposition Guy’s PodcastConstanza Bustamante, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is interviewed by Yuval Boger to discuss quantum policy at the nexus of national and economic s...
By Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante
-
Defense / Technology & National Security
Which Technology Offers the Best Defense Against Drones? Lasers or Mobile Gun Trucks?Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Romania and Norway are some of the European countries that have reported -- just this month alone -- drone incursions into their airspace. So far, the...
By Stacie Pettyjohn