5G or fifth column?

摘要

IN THE DAYS of pre-internet capitalism the troubles of one dominant company in an industry tended to be good news for its rivals. In today's hyperconnected world a threatened ban by Western governments of Huawei, the Chinese market leader in tele-coms gear, is also a worry for its competitors. Both Ericsson, a Swedish company, and Nokia, a Finnish one, would prefer the geopolitical saga to end, the better to focus on competing for contracts related to the launch of super-speedy "fifth generation" (5g) mobile-phone networks.