Fairfax, VA, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The next-generation Internet proposed by Huawei and supported by the Chinese government would provide a platform for revolutionary capabilities while implementing repressive measures that would eliminate today’s open communication, Internet experts agree. At worst, it would place control of Internet content in the hands of a few masters. According to Vint Cerf and several other experienced Internet professionals, even if it does not subsume the entire Internet, China could cripple the interoperability that has characterized the network’s value as an economic growth engine by creating separate and unequal Internets.
For a multipart series of articles posted on SIGNAL Media’s website, Editor-in-Chief Robert K. Ackerman spoke with Cerf, Laura DeNardis, Ted Hardie and Melissa Hathaway among others, all specialists in the area of international telecommunication and the impact China could have on the future of telecommunications. The upshot is China is pushing its new Internet architecture both through market penetration by its own industries and by influence among international standards bodies, they concur. Ultimately, the only way to prevent this methodical takeover would be for governments to provide financial and logistical support to their own companies while those companies improve efficiencies to compete with China’s telecommunications firms globally.
Cerf, an Internet pioneer who is vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google, notes that China’s own implementation of the Internet—“The Great Chinese Firewall”—indicates a high degree of sophistication in the ability to filter content. Cerf also notes that China’s products are favorably priced and have carved out a significant market share, especially in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. China’s M.O. is to loan money to countries for purchase of products and services, he says.
China’s high-technology communications and networking industries are proposing a host of future capabilities to come if vendors cast their lot with companies such as Huawei and ZTE. But these new technologies, once ensconced, would lead their users down a path closed to others and open to Chinese government control, say the experts.
Cerf observes that China probably is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy. It is working to maximize its presence in the markets and place as much of its own equipment in the global networking realm as possible, which is the goal of every manufacturer. Simultaneously, the republic is striving to be more influential in the standards community. These efforts might be more coincidental than coordinated, he admits.
According to DeNardis, China is becoming a power player around the Internet in a variety of ways. The interim dean of the School of Communications at American University and author of several books about the Internet, including The Global War for Internet Governance, DeNardis says this power comes from the rise of Chinese companies. In addition, China’s outsourcing of production and manufacturing by other countries’ companies into China and its involvement and expertise in standards-setting bodies also play a role.
She also contends the term “Internet governance” is an oxymoron. A lot of it involves the private sector, which controls much of the infrastructure. Keeping in mind that this is an ecosystem, she describes it as a private-sector-led multistakeholder model where no single player is in charge of all Internet governance responsibilities.
In contrast, China’s approach to Internet governance is more of cyber sovereignty. “The state has a much more powerful role in control of the network,” she offers. “Not only do they control the network, but also they co-opt the network in order to propel their political aims—such as censoring, surveillance and enacting control over citizens.”
To learn more about China’s influence in the telecommunications marketplace, read the SIGNAL Media series online.
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Robert K. Ackerman
Editor-in-Chief, SIGNAL Media
Senior Vice President
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AFCEA International
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