Explainer | How US went from telecoms leader to 5G also-ran without challenger to China’s Huawei

For well over a century, the US was known for its telecommunications prowess – first for the invention of the single-wire telegraph, and then for Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the modern-day telephone in the 1800s. Bell went on to found the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (known today as AT&T), which became one of the world’s largest telecommunications firms.

But as 2020 draws near and the world is on the cusp of ultra-fast 5G networks, the US has found itself without a telecommunications hardware champion that can compete with major 5G players such as China’s Huawei Technologies, Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson.

The fifth-generation wireless networks are expected to revolutionise everything from the internet of things to autonomous driving and virtual reality, with billions of dollars in economic benefit brought to countries that are able to keep up with the technology.

Instead, in recent years the US has clashed with China on trade and tech issues and moved to discourage other countries from using Huawei’s 5G gear in their networks, in the hopes that the equipment can be supplied by companies from friendlier nations.

The US has accused Huawei of ties to the Chinese government and warned allies that its equipment could be used for Chinese intelligence – claims that Huawei strenuously denies. Guo Ping, rotating chairman at Huawei, in turn recently taunted the US as a “sore loser” whose attempts to restrain Huawei were like “abandoning all table manners”.

Pressure from the US on its allies has mostly fallen on deaf ears – last month, the European Commission refused to ban Huawei outright, telling members that they were responsible for assessing network risks.