The Defense Science Board (DSB) has just submitted its report to the Department of Defense (DoD). It defines the broad outlines of the American strategy for the deployment of fifth generation telecommunications technologies.
Through an in-depth technical and technological examination, part of which is classified, this committee of civilian experts, appointed to the Department of Defense on scientific and technical questions, has just delivered expected conclusions. Taking place in a context of geopolitical tensions, against a backdrop of a trade war with Huawei in the leading role, this report is supposed to respond to growing concerns about the deployment of 5G.
Following a investigation report from the National Security Advisor of the United Kingdom expressing a certain number of reservations regarding the security of 5G technologies from the Chinese telecommunications giant, recent news has indeed revealed a real excitement among the governments of a certain number of countries, with the United States in the lead. If China were to invest and control a significant share of the global 5G market, then Beijing may be able to leverage this technology to their expense. The prospect of losing sovereignty over a telecommunications network – with a critical future – whose proper functioning could depend on the simple will of a foreign nation, is cause for concern across the Atlantic.
This report, intended to provide the broad outlines of the DoD's strategy in the context of the deployment of 5G, draws a certain number of conclusions particularly in terms of military applications, risk mitigation on supply chains, and establishes procedures for modernizing existing communications infrastructures:
- 5G bandwidth and services can enhance current DoD capabilities and have the potential to create new capabilities such as network functions virtualization, new radio frequency and network security enhancements;
- New and emerging technologies create opportunities to regain leadership for future versions of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards (a cooperation between telecommunications standards organizations that produces and publishes technical specifications for 3rd Generation Mobile networksrd and 4rd generation);
- 5G differs significantly from 4G, including changes in intellectual property, standards development and supply chains;
- inherent supply chain, cyber, radio frequency and electronic warfare vulnerabilities, as well as virtual and physical vulnerabilities, create significant risks;
- and 5G deployment must be measured against mission criticality and acceptable risk.
If Huawei has taken a clear lead in terms of 5G technology, there is no doubt that the American champion Qualcomm will be able to take advantage of this commercial ban on its direct competitor.
At the same time, in France, the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP) has just publish the deployment schedule and conditions of allocation of 5G in France with the aim of starting work in 2020.
Jean Lebougre
Cyberwarfare Specialist