FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, January 29, 2018, Contact: Scott Cleland 703-217-2407
The Primary Beneficiaries of America Nationalizing a 5G Wireless Information Highway Would Be: Google’s Monopoly Information Access, Android Mobile Operating System, & Google Maps/Waze; and SoftBank’s ~$60b holdings in China’s Alibaba & $100b Telecom/Tech Venture Fund
WASHINGTON D.C. – The following may be attributed to Scott Cleland, Chairman of NetCompetition:
“An analysis of the Axios-reported memo proposing to build a nationalized 5G wireless network makes it clear that Alphabet-Google and SoftBank are the moving force behind it. The proposal obviously would benefit their interests first and foremost and it goes in the exact direction they have lobbied for over the last several years.”
“It is especially ironic and troubling that Softbank and Alphabet-Google are the apparent impetus behind this proposal for a secure wireless transportation network to compete with China and be secure from Chinese snooping.
That’s because Softbank is one of earliest and biggest shareholders of Alibaba, China’s government-chosen, dominant ecommerce site,” and Google is increasingly cooperating with China’s limits on freedoms, to gain more business in China, especially in the arena of artificial intelligence -- a most sensitive area of national security technology transfer” -- by recently launching an artificial intelligence center in China.
That’s also because in the arena of autonomous vehicles, Alphabet-Google’s Waymo has big investments in both Uber and Lyft, and Softbank has a big proposed investment in Uber awaiting USG approval, and an investment in Didi Chuxing, China’s leading ride-hailing service, that apparently drove Uber out of China’s ride-hailing market.”
“The biggest “tells” in the document that Alphabet-Google and Softbank are the force behind this proposal are these.
· For Alphabet-Google, the big “tell” is on page 26 of the document, Google is tellingly the only company listed as part of the twelve “government” entities with OSTP, NEC, NSC, DHS, DOC, etc., per “Appendix 9: 5G Government and Industry Team and Roles.” This apparent unique Google-government relationship obviously flows from the unique role that Google had as the only corporate leader involved in the Obama OSTP PCAST report that proposed a very similar nationalized 5G wireless approach in 2012.
· For Softbank, the big “tell” is on page 6 of the slide entitled “Benefits to the American People… Arena of Allied Cooperation” with a bullet stating: “Japan all in” and no other American ally’s support is mentioned. It is no coincidence that Softbank is the leading Japanese telecom-tech conglomerate/keiretsu which sold its Yahoo Japan stake giving Google a monopoly in search in Japan in 2011.”
For the research and source links undergirding this insight please see:
Precursor Research:
Will Google become Softbank-Sprint’s Silent Partner? [10-18-12]
What is Google Really Up to in Wireless? [1-30-15]
Google Buys Jibe to Force Android as Web’s Default Means of Communications [10-7-15]
Google’s Gambit to Dominate Spectrum Access Administration [11-4-15]
Google Fiber Pivots to Be Wireless ISP & FCC Spectrum Access Administrator [10-31-16]
NETCompetition.org is a pro-competition e-forum representing broadband interests. Scott Cleland served as Deputy U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in the George H. W. Bush Administration.
