Interestinghttps://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-5g-america-streaming-speed-midband-investment-innovation-competition-act-semiconductor-biotech-ai-11645046867?mod=djemCIO
America’s average 5G mobile internet speed is roughly 75 megabits per second, which is abysmal. In China’s urban centers 5G phones get average speeds of 300 megabits per second. Though that’s not quite the fastest 5G in the world—South Korea claims that title at over 400 Mbps—it’s still fast enough to download a high-definition movie in two minutes.
The U.S. also trails China in the global market for 5G-related services. Although American sanctions have hurt Huawei, China’s national champion is still the global leader in supplying 5G infrastructure with 30% of the market, while no U.S. firms sell 5G infrastructure abroad. Strategically significant countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey have installed Huawei infrastructure and are already using it to deliver 5G services.
For its part, China has been rapidly allocating the most efficient part of the wireless spectrum, called midband, to 5G service providers. China has deployed at least three times as much midband to 5G providers as the U.S. has. AT&T and Verizon are using the same spectrum bands for both their 4G and 5G networks. As a result, as one industry analyst aptly put it, their 5G networks are “just 4G with sprinkles on it.” :)
Washington’s dithering has left America well behind China in the race to build 5G infrastructure. Because 5G signals have short wavelengths, reliable service requires proximity to many wireless base stations. China has installed more than one million 5G base stations, while the U.S. has built only 100,000.