Name: Tran Thi Thanh Tam

Class: KT43A
Student code: KT43A-032-1620

NEW REPORT

Huawei Initiates 6G Research in Canada

On August 13, Huawei confirmed that it has started research on 6G networks in
Ottawa, Canada, according to Canadian media outlet The Logic.
Another Canadian tech media iPhone in Canada also reported that Huawei has
started 6G network research in its research center located in the Kanata suburb of
Ottawa. Huawei has confirmed that the company has started negotiations with
researchers from a number of universities in Canada.
Song Zhang, Huawei’s vice president of research strategy and partnership in
Canada, said: “5G is already pretty new, and 6G is part of the so-called 5G
evolution.” Huawei expects that its Ottawa R&D lab will help lead global 6G
development.
The Canadian government has not decided yet whether to allow Huawei’s 5G
network to operate in Canada. The final decision will be made after the Canadian
federal government election this fall.
There has been previous news about Huawei recruiting communications
technology talent in Canada. Huawei announced in late February that it would
hire 200 new employees in Canada and expand the number of Huawei employees
in Canada by 20%.
Back then, Huawei stated that its staff expansion was mainly for strengthening
communication technology research and development. The company invested
$136 million in R&D in Canada in 2018, and plans to increase its R&D spending
in the country by 15% in the future.
Yang Chaobin, president of Huawei’s 5G product line, previously said to media
that 5G will be the mainstream technology in the next 10 to 20 years, and if 6G
is to come, it will be around 2030.
Is anyone working on 6G yet?
The International Telecommunication Union, an arm of the United Nations that
helps coordinate global telecom standards, has a working group looking into 6G.
But the requirements or capabilities simply haven't been defined at this point.
Moreover, earlier in the year, news broke out that Samsung made similar 6G
strides at its research base in Seoul. In June, Nokia, Ericsson and SK Telecom
announced their strategic partnership which revolves working together
on memorandums for 6G development.
In addition, on 21 Feb 2019, Trump wrote on Tweets that he'd like to see 5G and
even 6G technology deployed in the US as soon as possible. And he wanted US
companies put their efforts to be the leader in everything, especially in the field of
technology. Trump realized that 5G played important roles in all aspect because
US policy makers are increasingly worried that China could surpass the US when it
comes to 5G. This could mean that the next industrial revolution, which many
believe will be fueled by 5G, will happen in China instead of the US, leaving
America at a severe economic disadvantage.
Huawei has become the focus of concerns from national security experts who are
worried the company's gear used to build 5G networks could be exploited to spy on
the US. The US government has been working to ban Huawei's gear in the US, and
it's also been urging US allies to do the same on their turf.
Therefore it comes as no surprise that Huawei is also trying to position itself
among the front runners in the next generation of mobile connectivity. In my
opinion, Huawei's case reflects a battle between the West and China in the field of
communications networks, where the China is leading the world.