Huawei gives Britons taste of 5G future

The fifth generation of mobile networks is finally here, and most will know that means our phones are about to get a whole lot faster.

But a walk around the newly opened Huawei 5G Innovation and Experience Centre in central London makes it clear we can expect far more than just speedy downloads from this major technological advancement.

An enormous flat-screen TV dominates the mock living room in the middle of the exhibition space, streaming online video in impossibly crisp 8K resolution. There are gaming handsets, but no consoles: Such clunky hardware will be redundant in a 5G future where everything is powered by the cloud.

And household upgrades are just the start of it. The center showcases myriad technologies that will be enhanced or made possible by 5G, including remotely-piloted flying robots, driverless vehicles, augmented reality entertainment systems, virtual reality healthcare solutions, and smart manufacturing.

"We want to share the whole experience of the 5G network, locally in the UK and on a global level," Huawei UK 5G marketing manager Khurram Qayam told China Daily.

"We want to show people what 5G can do, for consumers, for the business-to-business market, and in industry," Qayam said.

Huawei is already in business with the four major mobile operators in the United Kingdom－EE, Three, Vodafone, and O2－for which it provides 5G radio access network technology. Those operators have launched, or are in the process of launching, 5G in select cities across Britain, where approximately 100,000 customers have made the upgrade this year.

The Chinese company is also making itself available to businesses that may benefit from 5G solutions. Huawei has already collaborated with German technology company Bosch at its factory in Worcester in the UK, where a 5G industrial trial improved productivity by 1 percent and is on course to double that gain.

"With the opening of our 5G Innovation and Experience Centre in London we, as a leader of 5G, are taking another important step," Huawei Vice-President Zhang Jiangang said on Monday, the day the London center opened. "What we have opened today will enable true collaboration among UK businesses and technologists and showcase the huge potential of 5G applications for both the private and business sectors."

Zhang said he is hopeful that Huawei will be able to continue contributing to the rollout of 5G in the UK.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's newly reelected government is currently mulling full or partial restrictions on Huawei, following sustained lobbying from Washington, which called on the UK to boycott the company due to alleged security risks.

"I am very confident that the UK will choose Huawei, because the UK always takes an evidence-and facts-based approach, and decision-making will be based on the nation's long-term interests," Zhang told Sky News.

"Huawei has been in the UK for more than 18 years. Trust has been built with our customers and the UK government through our openness and transparency."

Zhang went on to highlight Huawei's contribution to the country, where the company stimulated a 1.7-billion-pound ($2.2 billion) contribution to GDP and supported 26,200 jobs in 2018, according to a report from Oxford Economics.

He also warned of the detrimental impact that delays to 5G infrastructure upgrades could have on the UK economy. According to a report commissioned by Mobile UK, which is the trade association for network operators EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone, a delayed 5G rollout would cost the British economy between 4.5 billion and 6.8 billion pounds.