Sprint/T-Mobile: security moves into the spotlight
This week Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is expected to receive a letter from Congress highlighting the potential national security implications of the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger. The specific concern is the relationship between Sprint parent SoftBank and China's Huawei.
SoftBank, which would own 27% of the combined company, has
partnered with Huawei
to test 5G use cases, an alliance that could be a red flag for the Trump Administration. Administration officials worry about U.S. technology finding its way to China, and about Chinese equipment finding its way into U.S. wireless networks.
SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son (pictured) appears to have a
good relationship
with President Trump. SoftBank's Vision Fund has pumped billions of dollars into U.S. companies, and Son has said the investments will create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs. Those investments span the technology landscape but according to analyst Walt Piecyk of BTIG Research, Son is increasingly focused on 5G.
Meanwhile Congress and the FCC are shining a spotlight on Huawei's U.S. customers, from
Google
down to
rural wireless carriers
that serve just a few thousand people using Huawei's equipment. So far, Sprint has steered clear of the controversy. The carrier says it is no longer using the Huawei gear it inherited through its 2013 purchase of Clearwire.
Small cells and 5G
New
research
from iGR highlights the integral role that small cells will play in 5G, and forecasts carrier capital spending and operational spending on small cells. The report includes detailed profiles of outdoor small cell solutions and vendors.
5G small cell growth is projected to significantly outpace LTE small cell growth in the years ahead. But LTE has a big head start, and iGR predicts that it will take some time for the number of 5G nodes to catch up. And 5G will not put a stop to LTE small cell deployments -- healthy growth is projected through 2022. Access the full report
here
.
Cities face the future
City governments are playing a huge role in the deployment of small cells, and carriers are working hard to sell city officials on the benefits of 5G. But 5G may look like a double-edged sword to some city leaders as they consider the impact high-speed networks may have on employment. A new
report
from the National League of Cities evaluates the impact of automation on the workforce.
"No industry, job, or task is safe from automation," according to the NLC. "Displacement of existing jobs is a given, and the new kinds of jobs that will arise in their place remain unknown."
The report ranks occupations based on their susceptibility to the displacement of human workers by automation. It also highlights current city initiatives that are designed to promote sustainable employment in emerging industries.
