On Thursday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump raised eyebrows when he tweeted about the need for the U.S. to lead the development of 5G and — checks notes — 6G technology.
It’s not clear what prompted Trump to tweet about 5G, or for that matter 6G; the latter is likely one of his famous ad-libs.
That said, it’s not every day the President of the United States of America wades into a conversation about tech. Moreover, we thought as Canadians MobileSyrup could provide some much-needed perspective on Trump’s latest Twitter mistake.
Setting aside the fact that 6G isn’t a thing, and probably won’t be, as Android Police‘s David Ruddock points out, until long after a hypothetical second Trump term, Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. isn’t a leader in 5G is not only misleading, it represents a missed opportunity for the usually boastful president to trumpet the U.S.’s greatness.
I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on………
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
….something that is so obviously the future. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
President Trump, take this from the country that hasn’t even auctioned off 5G spectrum: the U.S. is doing great when it comes to 5G.
You need only look to companies like San Diego-based chipmaker Qualcomm to see how the country is leading the 5G charge. Qualcomm was able to accelerate the commercial deployment of 5G by at least an entire year thanks to its component work. Companies like Samsung and OnePlus wouldn’t be able to launch their 5G handsets this year without Qualcomm’s X50 modem.
In fact, the company is so important to the development of 5G that the Trump administration blocked a potential acquisition of Qualcomm by Singapore’s Broadcom. Most assumed the president did what he did out of his usual protectionist tendencies, but to allow the sale of Qualcomm to go through would have likely meant ceding the U.S.’s position as a 5G innovator to China.
But then what do I know, I’m just a simple Canadian from the country that practices supply management. All I know is can’t wait for AT&T to mislead its customers about its future 6G network.
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