A Huawei logo displayed at a retail store in Beijing, China on May 20,
2019. Google's decision to withhold its Android software from Huawei is
being seen as the beginning of a technology cold war. PHOTO | FILE |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Google's decision to withhold its Android
software from Huawei is being seen as the beginning of a technology cold
war that could compel African countries – in the future – to choose
between US and Chinese technology, analysts have told the BBC.
Most
Africans connecting to the internet today are likely to be using a
Chinese smartphone, powered by a Chinese-built network, and at least
half of the time, it was built by Chinese tech giant, Huawei.
"Huawei
built huge swathes of Africa's current IT infrastructure and if the US
is successful in crippling the company, the aftershocks could be very
painful for Africa's burgeoning tech sector that now relies on a company
in Washington's crosshairs," Eric Olander, from the South Africa-based
China Africa project, says.
US CAMPAIGN
US
President Donald Trump has been leading a public campaign urging
American allies to cut ties with Huawei, saying the company's
technology, among other things, was a security risk because it allowed
the Chinese government to spy.
The company has repeatedly denied the claims.
The US campaign could spark what Eric Schmidt,
Google's former CEO, predicted would be the inevitable bifurcation of
the internet, between a "Chinese-led internet and a non-Chinese internet
led by America".
If this happens, Africa should not take sides, Harriet Kariuki, a Sino-African relations specialist, told the BBC.
"It's not our battle, we should instead focus on what works for us," she said.
African
countries should instead come together to educate people about what is
at stake, and hopefully agree on an EU-type data protection law to
protect African consumers, Ms Kariuki said.
"This
is probably the time Africa considers developing its own technologies
relevant to its market instead of being passive consumers. I want to see
African countries come together and push back against this creeping
digital colonisation," she told the BBC.
'THE AFRICAN UNION HACK'
While
the recent concern about Huawei has been focused on communications
networks in the West, there are also allegations of a previous security
breach in Africa.
Critics of Huawei operations point to a report in January 2018 in French newspaper Le Monde
that found that the computer system at the African Union headquarters
in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, which was installed by Huawei, had
allegedly been compromised.
The
discovery found that for five years, between the hours of midnight and
0200, data from the AU's servers was transferred more than 8,000km away –
to servers in Shanghai.
The allegations were denied by the African Union and Chinese officials.
African
governments, even those with close security relationships with the US,
have mostly sat out of the debate about Huawei – and the reasons are
obvious.
Huawei runs a vast operation in Africa including being a major seller of smartphones.
It
has built most of Africa's 4G internet network, Cobus van Staden, a
Senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of
International Affairs, told the BBC.
The CEO of Kenya's telecom giant Safaricom Bob Collymore said Huawei had been a "great partner for many years".
"We
would like to stick with our partners as much as we can, however there
can be some practical difficulties if the embargo is on American
companies working with Huawei because it is an interconnected business,"
he said in a recent speech.
NETWORK
The
company, which opened its first office in Africa in 1998, is also in
pole position to win contracts to roll out 5G network on the continent.
The
super-fast network is touted as the internet iteration that will power
"Internet of Things" technologies, smart cities, autonomous vehicles,
and more.
"The scaling of Huawei's
presence on the continent has been made possible by being the first
company to exploit the potential of the IT economy in Africa, and having
the wherewithal to support its projects," Mr Van Staden said.
"China's tied-aid conditions that requires African governments to work with Chinese companies, has also helped it," he added.
According
to technology research firm IDC, Huawei is currently the fourth biggest
smartphone seller in Africa, behind another Chinese company, Transsion,
which makes the Tecno and Infinix brands, and Samsung.
All four brands currently use Google's Android operating system.
Huawei's
dominance and its relationship with governments in Africa could come in
handy if the so-called tech cold war between China and the US threatens
its African operations.
"Africa is the last tech market in the world and dominance in it would be key," Mr Van Staden said.
"Some
people, like here in South Africa, where Huawei is a major player, are
worried about being locked out of the Google ecosystem but Huawei could
use the current situation to change the game".
"Few
US companies know how to work in the African market, to make relevant
products for consumers on the continent. Huawei could use the current
situation to change the calculus and develop softwares in languages that
truly serves the African market," Mr van Staden said.
Most
Africans are online today thanks to cheap Chinese phones and many are
more concerned about the price of the gadgets and other features – like a
dual SIM-card phone, and long battery life – than an operating system,
he added.
US INTERNET VS CHINA INTERNET
Iginio Gagliardone, author of China, Africa and the Future of the Internet,
agreed that the ongoing tussle between China and the US could just be
what pushes Huawei to increase the use of its own software to support
its burgeoning smartphone market.
But he told the BBC it wouldn't be cheap or easy to build this capacity.
It
would also be difficult to export the closed internet model from China,
which would mean requiring customers to use Baidu rather than Google
and Sina Weibo instead of Twitter.
However,
WeChat, a multipurpose app that combines social media platforms,
messaging and mobile payments, could take off in Africa.
So will Africa be forced to make a choice?
"African
countries should not choose a side, in fact it would be interesting if
during this tech cold war it could form a non-aligned movement that
looks after its interests," Mr Gagliardone said.
His
research, despite suspicion, has not found any evidence that China has
been actively urging countries in Africa to adopt its censored version
of the internet.
"What you see is that China is providing products that have been requested by African governments," Mr Gagliardone said.
However,
Mr Gagliardone thinks that China, in its push to protect its
businesses, could leverage its relationship with African governments to
develop protocols that give its companies an advantage over the West.
"I,
however, don't see the consumer market being affected, I still see
consumers continue to have access to different products to choose from,"
he said.
The ensuing tech cold war is an opportunity and the continent should not be forced to pick a side, according to Ms Kariuki.
However,
according to Fazlin Fransman, from South Africa's Moja Research
Institute, "the current internet and technology boom [in Africa] is in
significant part because of the investment of Chinese tech companies.
Africa, in her view, has already picked a side, and it is China.
***
About Huawei in Africa:
Launched Africa operations in 1998 in Kenya
Operates in 40 countries
Built at least 50% of Africa's 4G network
Providing technology for smart city projects
Runs several research partnerships
Fourth major smartphone seller
Sources: Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Huawei, IDC
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