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5G network building can no longer work without Huawei
Translated from Dutch. View the original post
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Technology Huawei leaves its mark on crucial parts of #5G -technique. Thus, the trade war turns into a patent war. Even before the first Dutch 5G network is in the air, a fierce fight raging in the background over who invented the new mobile network technology.
In Europe, the Chinese telecom company Huawei filed 3,524 patent applications, much more than European or American companies. Huawei leads the ranking of the European Patent Office EPO and seems to acquire more standard patents for 5G than competitors Nokia and Ericsson. Other telephone and network manufacturers cannot ignore Chinese technology.
Typically, companies exchange such critical parts with a closed wallet, or otherwise charge “reasonable” licensing fees. So new products remain affordable. Patent experts warn that the US and China trade war is disrupting this process: if Huawei's network equipment and telephones market is blocked on a large scale, the company will try to recoup investments in 5G through licensing. That leads to higher prices throughout the sector. Through patents, China is still in control of European and American networks — even in countries where Huawei is banned.
5G is not finished yet
5G technology enables mobile networks to connect devices to the Internet at a large scale, with data traffic at faster speeds than currently possible. However, the technology is not yet 'finished': the 5G networks that are now being built are the forerunners of super-fast, extra-reliable networks that will further digitize society and industry.
For the most demanding applications, such as self-propelled cars or remote medical interventions, 5G is currently not suitable. However, we are working on the technique to make that possible. Chinese companies are explicitly involved in this, according to the figures published by the European Patent Office EPO on Thursday. Huawei, along with South Korean Samsung, leads the ranking of European patent applications.
Read also: China claims record number of inventions in Europe
The number of applications does not say everything; the number fluctuates per year, and not every application leads to approval. Whether a patent application ultimately results in a patent that is “essential” to the standard is a process that can take three or four years.
It is common ground that 5G has applied for many more patents than 4G, and that Chinese companies are making a crucial contribution to this innovation battle. In addition to Huawei, it's also about network company ZTE and phone makers Oppo and Xiaomi. Huawei invests the most in research; at $100 billion in revenue, the company invested more than $15 billion (13.5 billion) in 2018. Only Google, Amazon and Samsung — companies with a much higher turnover than Huawei — have a larger research budget budgeted financial news agency Bloomberg. According to critics, Huawei receives a lot of support from the Chinese government, but the company itself denies that.
Read also: How a Chinese tech giant Ericsson and Nokia went off
Connect everything to everything
“Until ten or twelve years ago, only Western companies such as Nokia and Ericsson did network technology and it was still clear,” says Tim Pohlmann, a German patent researcher. “But then the market was not as interesting as it is now.” If 5G lives up to its promise that it connects everything to everything, then the economic value of a standard patent is great.
Pohlmann's company IPlytics, commissioned by the German Ministry of Economy, analyzed over 95,000 questions for patents on 5G technology. He divided them into over 21,000 “patent families” — complete inventions — and looked to see if the application was made to more patent agencies. According to Pohlmann, the latter is a sign that a patent is more likely to be awarded.
He takes into account, as a rule of thumb, that 20 percent of patent applications are allocated. Huawei will write at least “several hundred to several thousand” standard patents to its name, says Pohlmann. “American and European companies do as much innovation as before, but because of the rise of Chinese technology, they get a smaller piece of the whole cake.”
The analysis of IPlytics shows why the Americans are trying to slow down Huawei: US companies have applied for 14 percent of 5G patent families so far, less than China and South Korea (33 and 27 percent respectively). European companies applied for 16.8 percent of 5G inventions.
Force Measurements
Because the Americans are doing their best to prevent Huawei, the patent system is losing balance, says Holger Seitz, patent attorney at the Dutch patent office EP&C. In markets where Huawei cannot sell products, gentlemen's agreements are no longer possible. “Patent Portfolios are measurements of strength between companies. If Huawei does not get a chance to sell 5G devices, it will seize other means.” A patent war — a long series of lawsuits in which companies thwart each other around the world — seems inevitable for 5G.
Seitz points out that the Americans are still trying to develop their own technology; 5G software that could be separate from Huawei. The plan does not seem very promising, says Seitz: “The US hopes to keep Chinese technology out of the door, but telecoms companies are not interested in yet another system.”
5G Who determines the default?
The 5G technique is established in consultation body 3GPP. The European standards organisation ETSI and six partner organisations from America and Asia determine how telecoms devices interact with each other.
3GPP brings together techies from all kinds of companies — telecom manufacturers such as Nokia and Ericsson, chip manufacturers (Qualcomm, Intel) and phone makers like Apple or Oppo.
Companies often have more roles: Huawei and Samsung both make network technology as well as smartphones and proprietary chips, Apple also works on its own 5G chips, but for the time being uses Qualcomm's.
Together, these companies determine the most suitable technology. Meanwhile, patent attorneys are going to work to translate the inventions into the widest possible patent applications.
Mobile network technology wasn't always the same worldwide. In previous generations, 2G and 3G, countries like the US, Japan and South Korea used a different technology (CDMA) than the GSM standard used elsewhere in the world. Since 4G, one technical standard for mobile networks has been chosen worldwide: LTE. So you can use your 4G phone — and soon your 5G device — in any country. The GSM/CDMA difference still echoes if you have to switch back to 2G or 3G abroad.
In Europe, the Chinese telecom company Huawei filed 3,524 patent applications, much more than European or American companies. Huawei leads the ranking of the European Patent Office EPO and seems to acquire more standard patents for 5G than competitors Nokia and Ericsson. Other telephone and network manufacturers cannot ignore Chinese technology.
Typically, companies exchange such critical parts with a closed wallet, or otherwise charge “reasonable” licensing fees. So new products remain affordable. Patent experts warn that the US and China trade war is disrupting this process: if Huawei's network equipment and telephones market is blocked on a large scale, the company will try to recoup investments in 5G through licensing. That leads to higher prices throughout the sector. Through patents, China is still in control of European and American networks — even in countries where Huawei is banned.
5G is not finished yet
5G technology enables mobile networks to connect devices to the Internet at a large scale, with data traffic at faster speeds than currently possible. However, the technology is not yet 'finished': the 5G networks that are now being built are the forerunners of super-fast, extra-reliable networks that will further digitize society and industry.
For the most demanding applications, such as self-propelled cars or remote medical interventions, 5G is currently not suitable. However, we are working on the technique to make that possible. Chinese companies are explicitly involved in this, according to the figures published by the European Patent Office EPO on Thursday. Huawei, along with South Korean Samsung, leads the ranking of European patent applications.
Read also: China claims record number of inventions in Europe
The number of applications does not say everything; the number fluctuates per year, and not every application leads to approval. Whether a patent application ultimately results in a patent that is “essential” to the standard is a process that can take three or four years.
It is common ground that 5G has applied for many more patents than 4G, and that Chinese companies are making a crucial contribution to this innovation battle. In addition to Huawei, it's also about network company ZTE and phone makers Oppo and Xiaomi. Huawei invests the most in research; at $100 billion in revenue, the company invested more than $15 billion (13.5 billion) in 2018. Only Google, Amazon and Samsung — companies with a much higher turnover than Huawei — have a larger research budget budgeted financial news agency Bloomberg. According to critics, Huawei receives a lot of support from the Chinese government, but the company itself denies that.
Read also: How a Chinese tech giant Ericsson and Nokia went off
Connect everything to everything
“Until ten or twelve years ago, only Western companies such as Nokia and Ericsson did network technology and it was still clear,” says Tim Pohlmann, a German patent researcher. “But then the market was not as interesting as it is now.” If 5G lives up to its promise that it connects everything to everything, then the economic value of a standard patent is great.
Pohlmann's company IPlytics, commissioned by the German Ministry of Economy, analyzed over 95,000 questions for patents on 5G technology. He divided them into over 21,000 “patent families” — complete inventions — and looked to see if the application was made to more patent agencies. According to Pohlmann, the latter is a sign that a patent is more likely to be awarded.
He takes into account, as a rule of thumb, that 20 percent of patent applications are allocated. Huawei will write at least “several hundred to several thousand” standard patents to its name, says Pohlmann. “American and European companies do as much innovation as before, but because of the rise of Chinese technology, they get a smaller piece of the whole cake.”
The analysis of IPlytics shows why the Americans are trying to slow down Huawei: US companies have applied for 14 percent of 5G patent families so far, less than China and South Korea (33 and 27 percent respectively). European companies applied for 16.8 percent of 5G inventions.
Force Measurements
Because the Americans are doing their best to prevent Huawei, the patent system is losing balance, says Holger Seitz, patent attorney at the Dutch patent office EP&C. In markets where Huawei cannot sell products, gentlemen's agreements are no longer possible. “Patent Portfolios are measurements of strength between companies. If Huawei does not get a chance to sell 5G devices, it will seize other means.” A patent war — a long series of lawsuits in which companies thwart each other around the world — seems inevitable for 5G.
Seitz points out that the Americans are still trying to develop their own technology; 5G software that could be separate from Huawei. The plan does not seem very promising, says Seitz: “The US hopes to keep Chinese technology out of the door, but telecoms companies are not interested in yet another system.”
5G Who determines the default?
The 5G technique is established in consultation body 3GPP. The European standards organisation ETSI and six partner organisations from America and Asia determine how telecoms devices interact with each other.
3GPP brings together techies from all kinds of companies — telecom manufacturers such as Nokia and Ericsson, chip manufacturers (Qualcomm, Intel) and phone makers like Apple or Oppo.
Companies often have more roles: Huawei and Samsung both make network technology as well as smartphones and proprietary chips, Apple also works on its own 5G chips, but for the time being uses Qualcomm's.
Together, these companies determine the most suitable technology. Meanwhile, patent attorneys are going to work to translate the inventions into the widest possible patent applications.
Mobile network technology wasn't always the same worldwide. In previous generations, 2G and 3G, countries like the US, Japan and South Korea used a different technology (CDMA) than the GSM standard used elsewhere in the world. Since 4G, one technical standard for mobile networks has been chosen worldwide: LTE. So you can use your 4G phone — and soon your 5G device — in any country. The GSM/CDMA difference still echoes if you have to switch back to 2G or 3G abroad.
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