Showing posts with label 5g. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5g. Show all posts

Thursday, June 16, 2022

बिहार को २०% आर्थिक वृद्धि दर देने के लिए फोर्मुला: सब्जी और फाइवजी (5G)




मैंने कल्ह प्रशांत किशोर को ट्विटर पर डायरेक्ट मेसेज किया तो उन्होंने तुरन्त जवाब दिया। कि अपना नम्बर यहीं पर भेजिए, मेरे टीम से कोइ आप से सम्पर्क कर लेगा। मैंने नम्बर भेज दिया। व्हाट्सप्प यूनिवर्सिटी का मैं भी असिस्टेंट लेक्चरर। 

२०% आर्थिक वृद्धि दर किसी ने नहीं दिया। चीन भी १० तक आ के अटक गया। अब तो वो १० भी रफुचक्कर है। अमरिका दो करता है तो खुद की वाहवाही करने लगता है। कि हमने दो किया। ब्रिटेन तो अभी भी चोरी ही करता है। कहा जाता है (और ये तथ्यांक है) ब्रिटैन ने २०० साल में भारत से ४५ ट्रिलियन डॉलर की चोरी की। तो चोरी तो बरक़रार है। छोटे छोटे ढेर सारे टापु हैं जहाँ दुनिया भर ले लुटा पैसा लंदन के बैंको तक ले जाने का काम होता है। उस प्रत्येक टापु पर ब्रिटेन का शासन है। 

पहला काम ही फाइवजी (5G) --- सही मापदंड के आधार पर सही कंपनी को लाइसेंस दिजिए, उससे पैसा लिजिए, और वो पैसा शिक्षा और स्वास्थ्य पर खर्चा किजिए। देश के कोने कोने में फाइवजी (5G) है तो सरकारी सेवा अभी से ९०% कम खर्चे में नागरिक तक पहुँचाया जा सकता है और अभी से १०० गुना बेहतर। सरकारी सेवा घर घर। ८०% सरकारी वेतन वालों की छुट्टी। उनको निजी क्षेत्र में भेजो ताकि दुगुनी कमा सके। 

रोजगारी असीमित है लेकिन इंटरनेट पर है और दुनिया के कोने कोने में। लेकिन उसके  लिए शिक्षित होना जरूरी है। ये मान के चलिए उससे सिर्फ २०% लोग लाभान्वित होंगे। 

बाँकी ८०% के लिए सब्जी खेती। कोशी नदी पर चुरिया पहाड़ पर नया डैम। पुर्ण बाढ़ नियंत्रण। १२ माह प्रत्येक खेत तक पानी। पुर्ण बाढ़ नियंत्रण का मतलब नेपाल से ५०,००० मेगावाट बिजली मिलने लगेगा। कोलकाता बंदरगाह तक रेफ्रिजरेटेड ट्रेन। सब्जी जाएगी दुबई से शंघाई तक, सिंगापुर से सिडनी तक। मुंबई तो जाएगी ही। 

आज अगर नालंदा का स्थापना करना पड़े तो किताब और रिसर्च जर्नल सब ऑनलाइन होंगे। कॉस्ट सीधे आ जाता है जीरो पर। 




Fed delivers jumbo 0.75% rate rise The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a super-sized three-quarters of a percentage point Wednesday — the biggest increase since 1994 — and said it may do so again in July in a bid to bring inflation to heel. Consumer prices have crested to the highest level in 40 years, reaching an annual 8.6% in May. The central bank's benchmark federal funds rate now stands at a range between 1.5% and 1.75%, and the Fed said rates could hit 3.4% by the end of the year — the highest since 2008 — and 3.8% by the end of 2023. ......... The Fed expects economic growth to slow to 1.7% this year as borrowing becomes more expensive, and for unemployment to reach 3.7% by the end of this year and 4.1% through 2024.



Tesla shifts cuts into higher gear



Improving communication across distributed teams



Artificial Intelligence is the future & the future is here! The global Artificial Intelligence(AI) market is valued approximately at USD 350 billion and annual growth rate is estimated to be roughly 38%.

Monday, July 20, 2020

Coronavirus News (184)

Tesla and the science behind the next-generation, lower-cost, ‘million-mile’ electric-car battery  New battery technology is possible, allowing cars to go 400 miles or more between charges and lasting as long as 1 million miles. That could spur EV sales the same way the first 100,000-mile warranties on gas cars once did. ..........  Vehicles with lithium-ion batteries, also used in cellphones, are expected to give way over the next few years to cars and trucks made with lithium-iron phosphate and other chemistries. This will cut costs, extend vehicle ranges to 400 miles or more between charges and enable batteries to last as long as 1 million miles. ............  “If you’re talking about batteries that can last twice as long for the same price, it completely changes the math for the consumer......... Iron phosphate batteries are safer, and they can have second or third lives as electricity storage.″ ........   Canning cobalt is one of the biggest elements of cutting the cost of batteries below the $100/kWh threshold that is a rough proxy for making electric vehicles as cheap as those powered by internal combustion engines ..........  Today’s batteries cost about $147/kWh, down from about $1,000 in 2010 and $381 in 2015 ...........  The most obvious is that the cost of electric vehicles — which recently has reached parity with gasoline-powered cars and SUVs in some luxury niche segments — could catch up to internal combustion engines by about 2023 ........  “I hope we get there sooner than 2025. Lithium-iron phosphate and its upgraded versions will have a major role in the future of EVs and fundamentally change large-scale energy storage.”

The flying taxi market may be ready for takeoff, changing the travel experience forever  The goal is to link urban centers with suburbs while leapfrogging traffic — air taxis could cruise at 180 mph at altitudes of around 1,000 ft to 2,000 ft. But NASA has reported they can go at an altitude up to 5,000 ft. .........   The autonomous urban aircraft market may be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040 .......  The start-up is building a prototype that it says should eventually approach the cost of ground transportation and help a billion people save more than an hour in commuting time every day. ............   “Joby Aviation’s aircraft is designed for four passengers plus a pilot. It can travel more than 150 miles on a single charge, is 100 times quieter than conventional aircraft during takeoff and landing, and is near silent in flyover.” ........  It aims to make flying taxis cheaper than owning passenger cars. ..........   “Air taxis are definitely the next phase of mobility” .......    They will usher in a nimble form of intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest possible route between two locations ...........  “Everyone in the industry proceeds as though safety is guaranteed and technology will solve everything, which, as we know, is never the case” ...........  Personal helicopter travel has been around for a long time but hasn’t expanded beyond wealthy passengers ...........  “If they are priced correctly, air taxis may be able to democratize travel in cities where there is no public transport alternative or where the congestion and size of the urban area (Sao Paulo is the classic example) are so great” 

5G is accelerating factory automation that could add trillions to the global economy  Imagine a manufacturing plant in which all the production equipment is continually changing in response to market needs. ..........  Also known as Industry 4.0, the smart factory runs on data and artificial intelligence, but connectivity forms the backbone of operations. The new fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) is a catalyst for this new industrial revolution because it offers much greater speed and bandwidth than previous networks, as well as low latency, or time required for data to travel between two points. 5G will work with and in some cases replace existing fixed, wired connections, making manufacturing more flexible and ready to implement innovations. ............  190 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2020 and 2.8 billion by the end of 2025. ...........  “In the future, we might be able to create ‘what we want’ in smart factories and receive it in a short time as we do purchase mass-produced products at online malls like Amazon” ........... “For the customer experience, products will become unique, customized and enriched with services.”   

U.S. Intel: China Ordered Attack on Indian Troops in Galwan River Valley  Gen. Zhao Zongqi, head of the Western Theater Command and among the few combat veterans still serving in the People's Liberation Army, approved the operation along the contested border region of northern India and southwestern China, a source familiar with the assessment says on the condition of anonymity. Zhao, who has overseen prior standoffs with India, has previously expressed concerns that China must not appear weak to avoid exploitation by the United States and its allies, including in New Delhi, the source says, and saw the faceoff last week as a way to "teach India a lesson." ........  the deadly and contentious incident – in which at least 20 Indian and 35 Chinese troops died, and reportedly a handful on each side were captured and subsequently released – was not the result of a tense circumstance that spiraled out of control, as has happened before, but rather a purposeful decision by Beijing to send a message of strength to India. ........   Beijing's attempts to make India more amenable to future negotiations, including about contested territory, instead appear to have pushed the economic giant closer to the U.S. ..........  Much is at stake, far beyond territorial control. The U.S. has pressured India for months to back away from employing Chinese tech company Huawei to help build its 5G infrastructure. In the aftermath of last week's incident, Indians were reportedly deleting Chinese social media app TikTok and destroying phones made in China. "It does the very opposite of what China wanted," the source says. "This is not a victory for China's military." ...........  On June 15, a senior Indian officer and two non-commissioned officers traveled unarmed to a meeting place where they expected to be met by a comparable delegation of Chinese troops to discuss the withdrawal, according to the source familiar with the U.S. assessment of the incident. Instead, dozens of Chinese troops were waiting with spiked bats and clubs and began an attack. Other Indian troops came in to support, leading to a melee that caused more casualties from the improvised weapons, rocks and falls from the steep terrain.   


3 separate brawls, 'outsider' Chinese troops & more: Most detailed account of the brutal June 15 Galwan battle  Three separate brawls divided by time and space. Chinese troops who aren't normally deployed at Patrol Point 14. And, a young Indian Army team that took a decision to cross the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to square things up with the Chinese Army. The contours of the June 15 bloodletting have become cleared.   


China is stepping into global leadership vacuum as U.S. struggles with coronavirus, says Kevin Rudd  “I know very few governments in the world who are currently not going through structural difficulties, mounting structural difficulties in their relationships with China” 


Saturday, September 14, 2019

Microsft, Huawei, Trump, 5G

If Donald Trump kills off Chinese firm Huawei, do Asia’s 5G dreams die? Some believe Huawei faces an existential threat. ....... this week’s dramatic escalation in the United States’ crackdown on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been a cold shower for those anticipating the mass-market arrival of a technology hyped as heralding a new dawn of driverless cars and artificial intelligence. ..... now some industry insiders say the Chinese behemoth has no clear way of continuing as a central player anywhere in the world....... a development that promises download speeds of up to 100 times faster than its 4G predecessor...... it relies on Western parts, such as chips. ...... will pave the way for developments such as driverless vehicles, remote robotic surgery and other aspects of the internet of things by offering far greater download speeds....... Unlike previous 3G and 4G networks, 5G ones will be “cloud native” – depending largely on software rather than hardware, and will also heavily utilise artificial intelligence........ With 4G networks becoming increasingly clogged, regulators in super-wired countries like Singapore want 5G rolled out sooner rather than later........ Even with the US action against Huawei, the Chinese company – widely lauded for being far ahead of Western competitors in developing 5G – is likely to have about 30 per cent of standard essential patents for the core of the technology. .........

Donald Trump’s Huawei ban is a more severe threat to global economy than trade war tariffs, economists say Blacklisting of technology firms is being viewed as a broad stroke by Washington to contain Beijing in its bid to lead the global tech race......... US President Donald Trump’s ban on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, and its implications for 5G development, poses a more serious threat to the global economy than higher tariffs, according to economists........ This week, the US was reported to be considering a similar ban against China’s Hikvision, one of the world’s biggest CCTV companies. ......

“The US-China tech competition will be more intense and drawn out, significantly outlasting the trade tensions.”

........ ......Blacklisting of tech companies is being viewed as a broad stroke by Washington to contain China in its move away from a large-scale manufacturing-led economy to a leader in the global tech race...... “5G is a really exciting technology. Having an edge in that space is an economic differentiation, so there is a race to be first.” ..... 5G, said Tannenbaum, is the secret for China to “continue its transition away from large-scale, heavy manufacturing” economy. Washington’s ban on Huawei, therefore, “strikes China right at the heart of their vision” ....... Huawei sources components from 22 suppliers listed in the US...... As a leader in cost, technology and innovative areas like 5G, it would be “very difficult for Huawei’s competitors to totally regain market share in this segment” ...... “Given the company’s broader contribution to industry innovation, the restrictions would likely slow down overall progress of such technologies.” ....... “At the same time, the US, and the world at large, will also suffer from their inability to use the best technology.”


Trump adviser asked Microsoft why it wouldn’t spy for the US, company president reveals in new book “As an American company, why won’t you agree to help the US government spy on people in other countries?” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, recounted how he was asked by the adviser on a trip to Washington. That inquiry is highlighted in Smith’s new book, Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age ......... Smith wrote that he responded by shifting the question to Trump Hotels, which had opened new properties at the time of the meeting in the Middle East and in Pennsylvania Avenue, near the White House. “Are these hotels going to spy on people from other countries who stay there?” Smith said. “It doesn’t seem like it would be good for the family business.” .......

Huawei’s blacklisting should not have been made “without a sound basis in fact, logic and the rule of law”.

....... There is an “increasing possibility that American officials will seek to block the export of a growing number of vital technology products, not just to China but to a growing set of other countries”, wrote Smith, adding that such a move would jeopardise US competitiveness in the global market. “It’s impossible to pursue global leadership if products can’t leave the United States.”


Trump’s blacklisting of Huawei is unfair and un-American, Microsoft president says Software giant Microsoft has kept asking US authorities to clarify the basis of that trade ban, but Smith said: “Oftentimes, what we get in response is, ‘Well, if you knew what we knew, you would agree with us’.” ...... “Great, show us what you know so we can decide for ourselves. That’s the way this country works,” he said. ...... “Brad was talking about the need for countries to use consistent principles before imposing significant sanctions on any company, and that those principles should be grounded in due process, the rule of law and transparency of approach,” a Microsoft spokeswoman told the Post in response to the Bloomberg article. ....... “You can’t be a global technology leader if you can’t bring your technology to the globe” ...... Huawei also remains ahead in the 5G gear market with 50 announced commercial 5G mobile network deals. ........ The US blacklisting has also prompted Huawei to accelerate the roll-out of its self-developed mobile operating system called Harmony, which can support a range of devices as well as being compatible with all Android applications.

Donald Trump says the US does not want to discuss Huawei ‘national security concern’ with China

Microsoft's top lawyer: Trump's Huawei ban makes no sense Huawei ban is like preventing a hotel chain from buying beds, says Microsoft president Brad Smith........ Smith said the current restrictions on Huawei, the world's second-largest smartphone maker, are wrong. ....... Trump has said Huawei's situation could be resolved if China agreed to an acceptable trade deal with the US. ...... Microsoft could also be harmed by potential Commerce Department export restrictions on artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Smith told Bloomberg that "you can't be a global technology leader if you can't bring your technology to the globe". .......

Smith also posed an analogy for the situation Google, Microsoft, Apple, Arm, and Qualcomm face in terms that Trump might understand: hotels and beds.



Microsoft says Huawei ban is 'un-American'

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Donald Trump Is Messing Up A Good Thing



Donald Trump is America's Boris Johnson. The two admire each other greatly. Trump is rooting for Boris to become Prime Minister of Britain. This is hubris melting into recklessness.

If America had three dollars in 2001, it made one of those three dollars in the 1990s. Something like the Internet can give you a marked rise in productivity. But the technology on its own is agnostic. It does not innoculate you against harmful inequality. That the people get to do through the democratic process.

If America has five dollars today, it stands to have another 10 dollars by something like 2035. The new technologies are about to bring forth massive gains in productivity. But left to its own devices you could end up with a society like portrayed in The Hunger Games. There is a tiny rich elite. And the masses can barely get by.


Inequality has to be thought of in the same breath as climate change. It will take civilization to a cliff.

Trump's attitude towards it is (1) denial, (2) deliberate misdiagnosis (The Mexicans! The Chinese!), and (3) Pied Piper leadership (read my tweets!).

Projections that put China at number one in 2050 and India at number two also put the US at number three. For the tiny population that the US is in comparison, that is not a bad slot to be in. Measured by per capita income, the US might still be number one.

But that whole projection has to be taken with a grain of salt. Which projection in 1980 put China in 2019 where it is today? The leading economy in 2050 might as well be a country not even on the radar right now.

Boris Johnson will wreck the British economy. Given the chance, Donald Trump will do the same thing on this side of the pond.




Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival
Towards A World Government
30-30-30-10: A More Thoughtful And Egalitarian Formula For Equity Distribution In Tech Startups For The Age Of Abundance
The Blockchain: Fundamental Like The Internet
The Character Called The Tech Entrepreneur



India 2050: Amitabh Kant
5G Challenges US Hegemony
Brexit, Aexit, And Trump
African Economic Union
Understanding China (2)
Trump's Prospects In 2020
Understanding China
Political Fallout For Xi
Made In China 2025
Trade War: The Spiral Down Scenario
Three Crises: China, Iran, DC

5G Challenges US Hegemony

The US has been acting like an empire. It acts like it owns a big chunk of the sky over the Pacific and the Atlantic. Only a few days ago I learned that. That is but ridiculous.

China is trying to imitate that behavior in the South China Sea. That is equally ridiculous.

This trade war is not David versus Goliath. This trade war is not who is right, who is wrong. There are two wrong parties.

There is a need for a new world order that is just. It is based on the premise that every human being is created equal.

5G is fundamental infrastructure. It is going to be vastly empowering for the individual everywhere.

The new order is not about challenging the United States or China. It is about challenging the very idea of the nation-state. The global village needs a village council.

5G challenges the nation-state. The Blockchain will challenge the US Fed, and every central bank on the planet. They have disproportionate powers.

The Internet challenged the media houses of the world. The Blockchain will challenge the banks of the world, among other things.

This trade war is stupid in that it is not even asking the right questions. It is a folly to try to answer the questions that are being asked.

Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival
Towards A World Government
30-30-30-10: A More Thoughtful And Egalitarian Formula For Equity Distribution In Tech Startups For The Age Of Abundance
The Blockchain: Fundamental Like The Internet
The Character Called The Tech Entrepreneur





Friday, May 24, 2019

Modi 2.0 And The 5G Question



Modi has earned himself another five years. One hopes there is not any other need for a shock therapy like demonetization. These five years are an opportunity to give India double-digit growth rates. 5G is fundamental to that equation. There is no way for India to avoid the Huawei question.

Modi's Second And Bigger Victory

Parroting the US position makes little sense. Instead, India should do its homework, in collaboration with others if necessary. Britain, France, and Germany are some powers that are eager to do their homework.

The bigger picture is privacy and security are major concerns with the internet in general. There are some policy solutions. Many solutions are technological and are in the future. Intelligence agencies do snoop in. That is true for all major powers. There is an urgent need to come together and create standards across emerging industries. That means countries coming together. That means the leading tech companies coming together.

When it comes to 5G equipment, looks like Huawei has hardware that is much better and much cheaper than its several rivals. The question being asked is, is it safe though? Britain, France, Germany, and India have enough expertise to be able to assess and answer that question. And if Huawei is not safe, are its rivals safe? Or do they offer the same vulnerabilities?

Right now 5G is the most critical infrastructure for India. It beats all else in importance. You roll out 5G and every city, town, village, and hamlet will have  become a "smart city." This has huge implications for commerce, for democracy, for the environment. It will become so much easier to measure air quality and water quality. It will decrease the pressure on the cities. Many more will be able to telecommute. It will most definitely give rise to new industries. A state like Bihar might give a million tutors to the world who all work from their homes in Bihar and teach kids around the world. Yoga teachers will similarly get global reach.

5G will take Modi's idea of "minimum government, maximum governance" to unprecedented heights. Much of the government will be online. There will remain very little need to visit government offices.

5G will revolutionize finance and access to credit for the poorest of the poor.

When hackers hack, they do so because you have internet access. It is absolutely possible for Huawei (or any other similar company) to create tiny "doors" for spy agencies. Just like it is absolutely possible for Microsoft to create little "doors" for the CIA in its Windows operating system. It is possible for Huawei competitors to do the same. It is possible for a company like Facebook to collect data on people and for some intelligence agency to create a bogus app that helps them vacuum that data. Facebook does not even have to actively cooperate.

All this does not take away from the promise of 5G. 5G will have 100 times greater impact than Indian Railways on the Indian economy. 5G is a train that you don't want to miss for too long. 5G is the ultimate Silk Road.

Privacy and security concerns must be addressed. But that requires countries and companies coming together and showing unprecedented levels of goodwill and cooperation.

The beauty of the 5G promise is, the Indian government does not have to spend a dime. All the action will be in the private sector. All you have to do is do your homework and approve.


Modi's Second And Bigger Victory
Trade War Endgame Scenarios: Look At Canada And North Korea For Hints
India And Reforms
New Twist In The Trade War: China Devalues Its Currency
5G And The Trade War
Huawei Founder Ren Zhengfei
A Truly Global Universal Basic Income
New Political And Economic Paradigms For The Age Of Abundance
The Inequality, The Climate Change


Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival
Towards A World Government
30-30-30-10: A More Thoughtful And Egalitarian Formula For Equity Distribution In Tech Startups For The Age Of Abundance
The Blockchain: Fundamental Like The Internet
The Character Called The Tech Entrepreneur



5G launch in India: Modi government to roll-out high-speed 5G telecom services by 2022 The South Asian nation, traditionally a laggard while embracing latest technology in telecommunications, will follow South Korea, Japan and China where 5G service will be offered within the next two years........ expects South Korea to launch these services by March 2019, Japan in late 2019 and China, along with most western major cities, in 2020......“India needs China to launch to drive economies of scale and lower cost 5G handsets. I think 2022 or later is appropriate for India” ..... So far, telecom infrastructure has got second place to physical infrastructure as Asian nation struggled to beef up its roads, ports and airports.
Trump Wants '5G' and 'Even 6G' Wireless Technology 'As Soon As Possible.' What's He Talking About? Autonomous vehicles could use 5G’s lower latency to respond quickly to changes in traffic and communicate with other connected equipment. And since 5G will be capable of helping low-power devices communicate with one another as coverage grows over the next decade, it could enable all sorts of new smart home tech, too...... The U.S. government is even pressuring allies to block Chinese-made 5G equipment, though some, like Germany, aren’t listening.
Narendra Modi government needs to focus on reviving sectoral health, deploy 5G: Industry
5G: Modi's next speed test "...accelerated deployment of next generation ubiquitous ultra-high broadband infrastructure with 100% coverage of 10 Gbps across urban India and 1 Gbps across rural India...". ...... 5G will enable electronic and mobile smart governance, remote health diagnosis, remote education, digital payments, Smart Cities, Smart Transportation, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine to Machine Communications (M2M), and smart devices enhanced by Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as driverless cars, smart houses, etc....... Airtel is set to deploy Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), a precursor of 5G, in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Nokia announced partnerships with both Bharti Airtel and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Nokia also announced the establishment of a 5G IoT laboratory in Bengaluru. China's ZTE has initiated pre-5G trials with Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance Jio........ A change in mindset is required in order to realise the potential benefits made possible by new broadband technologies and distributed computing networks, as well as by other technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, etc. ....... a HD movie takes 26 hours to download on 3G, six minutes on 4G, and only 5 seconds on 5G. ......... Suppose I am on an international flight when I get a brilliant brainwave for developing a new drug. My handset on the airplane should be able to quickly get me whatever research journals, medical databases, design, simulation and visualization tools I will need to immediately act on my brainwave. In fact, the network should "read my mind", quickly figure out by itself what resources and what information I need, and fetch them to my handset mid-air. ........ A major problem in developing such networks is that the software developers, system hardware engineers, radio and electromagnetic engineers, designers of integrated circuits, and semiconductor materials engineers do not understand each other and often work at cross-purposes. ........ These are all engineering challenges that require a multi-disciplinary approach, and the government's Rs 500 crore corpus should focus on creating such multi-disciplinary research teams at various Indian educational and research institutions.



Why Modi government wants India to go 5G in 2020 "We missed the opportunity to participate when the standards were being set for 3G and 4G, but don’t want to miss the 5G opportunity. Now when the standards are being set for 5G across the world, India will also participate in the process be successful in launching 5G by 2020." ..... the new standard — apart from just being faster than current generation 4G networks — will promise better latency and higher bandwidth, which will allow for a higher density of broadband users without slowing down the speed. ....The network will additionally also be optimised for Internet of Things (IoT) ...... The technological advancements of 5G will in part help the government make a renewed push for its "Digital India" initiative and cashless economy campaigns ..... The rollout of 5G technology will also make the government a lot of money from the auctioning of spectrum needed for newer technology. ...... Even though India was more than 10 years late in adopting 3G technology and lagged behind in adoption of 4G standards too, the government's plan of bringing the 5G network platform to the masses — rivaling the rollout in developed economies in Europe and America — is highly ambitious, but certainly achievable. ..... Airtel has announced that, initially, it will implement the new technology in Bangalore and Kolkata, and later expand to other parts of the country......Jio, which is based on an all-IP network and can be easily upgraded to 5G and beyond, has already announced that it will move to 5G standards shortly after the rollout.
Japan and India pledge cooperation on AI and 5G "No two nations have as much potential together as Japan and India," Abe said at the beginning of his meeting with Modi at the prime minister's office in Tokyo..... The two nations plan to conduct joint research on artificial intelligence. ....... The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, one of Japan's largest public research institutions, and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad will jointly develop AI technology and begin research in the robotics field....... Japanese and Indian technology companies sense an opening as the U.S. and Australia restrict Chinese players like Huawei Technologies from supplying 5G equipment. A hundred times faster than current technology, 5G will form the communications infrastructure for the "internet of things" and self-driving cars........ The Japanese leader has told aides privately that he feels comfortable discussing global events, and not just bilateral issues, with the Indian leader...... His fondness for Modi was evident in a Facebook post on Monday. "I invited Prime Minister Modi to my vacation home, where just the two of us enjoyed a private dinner together," the Japanese prime minister wrote. "In that relaxed atmosphere, we talked frankly with each other about various topics. I want to continue to walk firmly hand in hand with Prime Minister Modi, aiming at bringing about a free and open Indo-Pacific." ....... The two countries will also collaborate on infrastructure, such as port and road projects in third countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Japanese government will assist with development in Northeast India as well.
India and Japan seal $75bn currency swap deal India and Japan on Monday inked a $75 billion bilateral currency swap agreement which should bring greater stability to foreign exchange and capital markets in Asia's third largest economy...... Japan and India had a currency swap agreement of up to $50 billion that had expired. The Indian rupee has tumbled 15% against the dollar since January amid the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes. The new swap deal will guarantee a buyer for the rupee that will help to stem a fall in value in case of a currency crisis...... "The importance of [the] swap agreement is that India can borrow U.S. dollars from Japan and give it Indian rupees of the borrowed amount to stabilize its currency," said Shamshad Ahmad Khan, a visiting associate fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi. "This is very important considering the timing when [the] Indian rupee is depreciating."........ Modi said the leaders had agreed on a "two-plus-two" dialogue between their foreign ministers and defense ministers, with the aim of working toward encouraging world peace and stability. ....... the strategy requires greater synergy between the two countries' defense and foreign ministries." ...... Modi also pointed out that Japanese investors, during his visit, have committed $2.5 billion to India, which would create employment for 30,000 people. "We will strengthen our partnership in every sphere, including digital, cyberspace, health, defense, oceans and space." ..... They also exchanged notes about a loan agreement for the ambitious 1.1 trillion rupee ($15 billion) Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail, the construction of which started last year. Japan is funding over 80% of the project.

Photo via Ajay Bhagat




Tuesday, May 21, 2019

The US And The Chinese Economies Are Super Well-Connected

The US and the Chinese economies are super well-connected. It costs less to send a package from Shanghai to Los Angeles, than it does to send it from Los Angeles to any other destination in the US, no matter how close. China is not some distant country.

Not only are the US and Chinese economies super well-connected, but the two are also super well-connected to the rest of the world. If the two escalate this trade war, the global economy itself suffers. Every country will be impacted to various degrees.

The US and the Chinese economies are not only super well-connected at the level of consumption. That is there. But that is only the surface of it. China exports raw material to the US that the Chinese manufacturers use to produce and export to China which some Chinese producers use to build even more complex goods which they then export to the US, among other places.

That is why when the trade war started, the Trump administration started jacking up the tariffs, first on some imports, then on more, then larger tariffs on even more imports. That gradual increase might have been as much in consideration of the trade talks as to test the resilience of the US economy itself. China, of course, retaliated in kind. But so far it has been theatrics. Soon the trade war is about to hit the average consumer in the US in the form of higher prices. People who by and large did not much gain from the Trump tax cuts are about to start paying more at their local stores. This is going to be widespread. The trade war is no longer some remote thing impacting farmers in Iowa.

But then there is Huawei. The US intends to hurt Chinese companies like Huawei. Ends up Huawei imports things like computer chips from some American companies. But then also ends up China is the source of something like 90% of the supply of rare earth metals that are do or die for the high tech industries. The US might block the chips. China might block those rare earth metals. You are looking at constipation scenarios in the global supply chains.

But then China has been the hub of low tech industries. It produces goods that go to the Walmarts of the world where the working class, the lower middle class, the middle class go shopping. Ends up those working class, the lower middle class, the middle class are by now emergent classes in most parts of the world.

The US is not about to get back its lost manufacturing base. But it is already seeing the industries of tomorrow all over the horizon. It is automation, not China. China is also losing manufacturing jobs to automation.   

Yes, free speech is an issue. Yes, mass surveillance is an issue. Yes, freedom of religion is an issue. But white supremacy is also an issue. At some level, the trade war is white supremacist thinking taken from the Mexican border to the ports of China.

The FBI is on public record having asked Facebook and Apple for information on individuals. One thing Wikileaks revealed is the US spied on the German Chancellor. I don't doubt the US and Chinese intelligence agencies do their best to snoop in.

Cybersecurity is a major issue. But it is for the tech companies of the world to come together and set standards. It is for the governments of the world to make the policy moves.

5G is going to be a game changer. Too bad the two leading economies cannot get their act together.



Trade War Endgame Scenarios
US China Trade War: A Meeting Of The Hot And Cold Fronts
New Twist In The Trade War: China Devalues Its Currency

Thursday, May 16, 2019

5G And The Trade War



5G is technology. What has that got to do with the trade war?

Trump’s Huawei Threat Is the Nuclear Option to Halt China’s Rise The Trump administration is pulling out the big guns in its push to slow China’s rise, with potentially devastating consequences for the rest of the world......... The White House on Wednesday initiated a two-pronged assault on China: barring companies deemed a national security threat from selling to the U.S., and threatening to blacklist Huawei Technologies Co. from buying essential components. If it follows through, the move could cripple China’s largest technology company, depress the business of American chip giants from Qualcomm Inc. to Micron Technology Inc., and potentially disrupt the rollout of critical 5G wireless networks around the world.

US move against Huawei could slow the global rollout of 5G American firms accounted for more than a third of Huawei's major suppliers at the end of last year..... "This could set back Huawei's supply chain in the US and potentially delay 5G in China," Edison Lee and Timothy Chau, analysts with brokerage firm Jefferies, said in a note Thursday, calling the scenario a "nightmare" for China's adoption of the new technology..... Beyond China, Huawei has signed dozens of commercial 5G contracts around the world, including 25 in Europe and 10 in the Middle East. It could be harder to fulfill those contracts if Huawei can't buy parts from US suppliers...... Huawei is better positioned to work around a ban on US components. ...... Huawei was already steeling itself for disruption to its supply chain, saying in March that it had diversified suppliers and stockpiled key parts to ensure the continuity of its business...... "The ban will slow down 5G adoption and eventually will be harmful to [telecom] carriers and consumers around the world."....... "Restricting Huawei from doing business in the US will not make the US more secure or stronger; instead, this will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment," Huawei said in a statement Thursday.

AT&T CFO says 5G ‘national coverage’ by mid-2020 the operator is working toward “national coverage of 5G” by the “middle of the next year.”

UK will make its own decision on 5G and Huawei, culture secretary says
The first 5G phone launches today for $1,300

Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Huawei Founder Ren Zhengfei

Huawei Founder Ren Zhengfei



every Chinese person was allotted only one-third of a meter of cloth. That amount could be used only for patching. So I never wore clothes without patches when I was young. ........ Back then, China was in complete chaos ..... When we just arrived at the site, it was dozens of square kilometers, and there was no housing at all. So everyone slept on the grass. ..... shabby housing that provided little shelter from the rain and wind. It was minus 20-something degrees Celsius outside ..... This was the first time that I had learned what the world's most advanced technology looked like. ...... we learned to endure hardship. ..... Our housing was very shabby, so we constantly felt cold as it could not protect us from the wind. Just imagine, the temperature could drop to minus 28 degrees Celsius....... There was no supply of fresh vegetables at all, so we had to pickle some vegetables like cabbages and radishes we got in autumn in large concrete pots, and rely on pickled foods for six months at a time. Our staple food was sorghum. It was far from delicious....... But I was happy then, because if you read too many books in other parts of the country, you could get criticised. The factory was probably one of the few places that people could read. ....... My dream back then was to reach the military rank of Lieutenant-Colonel before China disbanded its military forces. Unfortunately, that did not happen. So I'm just a veteran without a military rank. ....... In the end, I invented that instrument.... the country was trying to find readily available examples to demonstrate that science and technology were valuable. My little invention was exaggerated into something really big and it was promoted in various media outlets, including newspapers, magazines, movies, etc. And because of such massive publicity, luckily I was chosen to be a member of the National Science Conference........ that is a time when you had to be a Communist Party member even to become the head of a cooking team in the military. I was selected to attend the National Science Conference, but I was not a Communist Party member. My supervisor felt that was really strange, so with the help of party organizations, I became a Communist Party member. The reason I was not a member was not because I did not do my job well enough. It was because of my family background....... My father was labelled as a “capitalist roader”....... for an educated person back then, an intellectual, his or her background or history would be much more complicated than that of a cadre among farmers and workers........ I was a complete technical geek back then. Today, I still love my country. I support the Communist Party of China. But I will never do anything to harm any other nation. ......... over the past 30 years, our products have been used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 3 billion users in total. We have maintained a solid track record in security. Huawei is an independent business organisation. When it comes to cybersecurity and privacy protection, we are committed to siding with our customers. We will never harm any nation or any individual. Secondly, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially clarified that no law in China requires any company to install back doors. Neither Huawei, nor I personally, have ever received any requests from any government to provide improper information............. Customer-centricity has been at the very core of Huawei's business operations since our founding. We will never do anything to harm the interests of our customers. Apple is an example we look up to in terms of privacy protection. We will learn from Apple. ....... As Meng Wanzhou's father, I miss her very much....... We are a private company, so we are able to remain committed to our long-term ideals........ Over the next five years, we are going to invest a total of more than 100 billion US dollars into R&D. Public companies, however, are unlikely to do this ....... Our decision-making system is different from public companies. It is very simple, and we are working hard to make the information society a reality. ...... We have 96,768 shareholding employees. Just a few days ago on January 12, we completed the election of the new representatives of shareholding employees at 416 polling stations across over 170 countries and regions. ....... Eventually, we will come up with 115 representatives for all shareholding employees. The Representatives' Commission, consisting of these 115 employees, is the highest decision-making authority in Huawei, and the company is owned by our 96,768 shareholding employees. ......... There is no single individual that owns even one cent of Huawei's shares without working at Huawei. There is no external institution or government department that owns our shares, not even one cent's worth. ........ When I got demobilised from the military, my wife and I received a total of CNY3,000 as compensation from the military. At the time, a minimum of CNY20,000 was required as registered capital to start a company in Shenzhen. By pooling funds from different people, I managed to get CNY21,000 to register Huawei......... Today, the total number of shares that I personally have within Huawei is 1.14 per cent, and the stake that Steve Jobs had in Apple was 0.58 per cent. That means there is still potential for my stake to be further diluted. I should learn from Steve Jobs. ........ For Huawei employees, whether they are Chinese or non-Chinese, if they violate local laws, we'll always cooperate with the investigations. ...... Within Huawei, we have a very sound internal and external compliance management system. The idea is to prevent those wrongdoings or bad things from happening. ..... In the cloud era, our society is becoming more and more complex. If we do not govern our behaviour through discipline, we might get overwhelmed....... Some countries have decided not to buy equipment from Huawei. Therefore, we can shift our focus to better serve countries that welcome Huawei. We can build high-quality networks in those countries to prove that we are trustworthy. Therefore, it's like a peaceful race from a technical point of view, and I think that is fair. ......... we are not a public company – we aren't overly concerned about beautiful numbers, or a nice-looking balance sheet. If we are not allowed to sell our products in certain markets, we would rather scale down a bit. As long as we can feed our employees, I believe there will always be a future for Huawei. ......... right now our R&D investment averages 15–20 billion US dollars per year. That puts Huawei in the top 5 position across all industries in the world in terms of R&D intensity. In total, we have been granted 87,805 patents. In the United States, we have registered 11,152 core technology patents. We are actively involved in 360+ standards bodies, where we have made more than 54,000 proposals. ........ In terms of 5G, we have signed 30-plus commercial contracts today, and we have already shipped 25,000 5G base stations. We have 2,570 5G patents. I believe that, as long as we develop very compelling products, there will be customers who will buy them........ If your products are not good, no matter how strong you go for publicity, nobody will buy them. So what matters to Huawei more is working to streamline our internal management, improve our products, and improve our services........ Huawei is the only company in the world that can integrate 5G base stations with the most advanced microwave technology. With that capability, our 5G base stations don't even need fibre connections. ....... Those countries may voluntarily approach Huawei and ask Huawei to sell them 5G products rather than banning Huawei from selling 5G systems. We are a company that is customer-centric; therefore I think it is possible that we will sell our equipment to them ........ I think the 5G standard serves as a very good foundation for humanity to move toward an intelligent world. Arbitrarily dividing technology into two different camps will only harm the interests of the world. ...... Personally, I strongly support unified global standards....... I have one son and two daughters, and I do not think my relationship with them was very close. As a father, I feel indebted to them. I once talked to all of them, asking if they would prefer we spent more time together as a family. The alternative I gave them was that I would build a platform upon which they could grow. Their response was, alright, we would choose a platform for our professional development.......... Within Huawei, Huawei's management system is one based on processes. Processes are cold things, and I do not directly supervise Ms. Meng's responsibilities, so we don't have a strong connection in the workplace, either. ........ the message to the US that I want to communicate is collaboration and shared success. In our hi-tech world, it is increasingly impossible for any single company or even any single country to do the whole thing........ In an information society, interdependence between one another is very significant. And it is these inter-dependencies that drive human society to progress even faster. The information society we are going to see will be massive. And for any single market opportunity, it cannot be sustained or supported by any single company. Instead, it calls for the concerted efforts of thousands or even tens of thousands of companies working together......... If countries or companies are frightened, let's say, by the detention of certain individuals, then those potential investors might be scared away, and the favourable environment created by tax cuts will not perform to expectations......... We are like a small sesame seed, stuck in the middle of conflict between two great powers........ The trade conflict between China and the US has not had a major impact on our business. We are expected to continue our growth in 2019, but that growth will not be greater than 20 per cent........ some people in the West believe that Huawei's equipment is stamped with some sort of ideology. That is as silly as people smashing textile machines back during the industrial revolution, as they thought advanced textile machines would disrupt the world. ....... we have made it clear in our corporate policy and fundamental business principles that we must abide by all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, including all applicable export controls and sanction laws and regulations of the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union. ......... There was nuclear leakage in Fukushima. People were evacuated from the affected areas, but Huawei employees went to the affected areas to restore telecommunications equipment. Huawei employees risked their lives and restored 680 base stations within two weeks. ....... Meng Wanzhou also flew from Hong Kong to Japan during that time. There were only two passengers on that flight. ........ a tsunami that happened in Indonesia. 47 Huawei employees restored 668 base stations in affected areas within 13 hours, supporting the disaster relief efforts......... In a lot of African countries, there is not only war, but also very serious disease. A lot of Huawei employees have contracted malaria. A great number of Huawei employees often go to war- or disease-affected areas to do their job. ......... We're able to do these things partly because we are not a public company, so we can work truly for our ideals, and for the greater good of society. Public companies tend to focus more on their financial numbers. ......... I also visited a village near Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,200 meters, as well as the base stations nearby. I told everyone that, if I'm personally afraid of death, how could I motivate my people to charge forward?........... we shouldn't allow suspicion to confuse the facts ........ President Jiang Zemin once came to visit Huawei. That was a time when Huawei was very, very small, and the floor, made of cement, was still wet, not even dry yet. President Jiang did not give any specific instructions. ..But he did encourage us to work harder............ The only reason Huawei exists is to serve our customers. ...... If authority is not tempered by constraint, it will hinder or even destroy our shared values. .......... our Articles of Governance are designed with the idea of realising a division of authority, shared progress, and checks and balances. This will ensure that the authority flows in a closed loop, and renews itself with every circulation......... The company cannot place its future squarely on the shoulders of any single individual. ....... we must stick to collective leadership ........ we completed an election that was attended by 96,768 employees across 170 countries and regions. This whole governance structure is meant to form a new institution of authority. ........ our shared values, essentially customer centricity and customer value creation ....... We have several layers of different governance bodies. For each level of governance, the roles and responsibilities are focused and clear. There are divisions of authority, while at the same time checks are conducted and balance is maintained. That will help prevent authority from becoming too concentrated. ........ one governance body within Huawei is what we call the Core Elite Group. The members of the Core Elite Group used to be board members and members of the Supervisory Board. The Core Elite Group is intended to safeguard the long-term interests of Huawei, and also is entrusted with the authority to select governance leaders. We drew inspiration from a famous European management guru, Fredmund Malik, when we designed this governance structure. ....... Seniority does not matter when we select board members. Members of the Supervisory Board are selected based on integrity. They oversee the performance of the board members and other senior executives. ........ We currently have three rotating chairmen. Each of these takes turns to be in charge for six months. During those six months, that individual is the highest leader in Huawei. ......... The Executive Committee consists of seven executives. They will vote, and a majority must be achieved before any motion can be then presented to a plenary session of the Board of Directors. ........ I don't know exactly who my successor will be. Successors will naturally appear during this circulation, and this process of renewing authority. It's not someone that I appoint. I am not a king.......... In 2019, we might face challenges and difficulties in the international market. That is why I said earlier that our growth next year would be less than 20%, and I think our annual revenue for 2019 will probably be around 125 billion US dollars. We will not take advantage of the difficulties that our peers like Nokia and Ericsson are facing, in order to seize their market shares. I also think that the macro environment is in their favour, because there are restrictions on Huawei in some countries, but there are no restrictions on those companies. Therefore, I believe they may have more opportunities than Huawei......... Several years later at an airport meeting that I had with John Chambers, he told me that he was aware of Huawei's attitude towards Cisco at the time. ........ The country should not close its door simply because of one company, Huawei....... When unexpected huge incidents happened, like US companies that suddenly decided to stop buying Huawei phones, some people in China said we should do the same to Apple's iPhones in China. My opinion was that the Chinese government should not take similar measures against Apple in China. The national interests or policies around economic reform and opening up cannot be sacrificed for the benefit of Huawei. Even in light of the recent setbacks we encountered in some Western countries, we still support China, as a country, to become even more open. I think China can become more prosperous only when it becomes more open, and continues to press ahead with its reform agenda.



The War on Huawei