Lex專欄：中美5G之爭

Qualcomm is under attack for its dominant position in intellectual property for mobile chips. On Wednesday the US chipmaker was hit with a T$23.4bn (US$774m) fine by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission.

高通(Qualcomm)在移動芯片知識產(chǎn)權(quán)領域占據(jù)著主導地位，這使它受到了攻擊。周三，這家美國芯片制造商被臺灣公平交易委員會(Fair Trade Commission)罰款234億新臺幣(合7.74億美元)。

A lower-profile skirmish over chips for the forthcoming 5G standard could be more consequential, however. China is pushing for a bigger share in the design of the next generation of mobile data services. If it succeeds, Qualcomm will be hurt, equipment makers such as ZTE and Huawei will benefit and operators such as China Mobile will pay the bill.

不過，一場不那么熱鬧的圍繞5G芯片的爭執(zhí)才是重頭戲——目前5G標準尚未制定出來。中國正力爭在下一代移動數(shù)據(jù)服務的設計方面占據(jù)更大份額。如果中國成功了，高通將受到?jīng)_擊，中興(ZTE)和華為(Huawei)等設備制造商將會受益，而中國移動(China Mobile)等運營商將為此買單。

The US chip group owns 12.5 per cent of patents essential for the current 4G standard, according to Jefferies. Qualcomm recorded royalty revenues of $4.4bn in the nine months to June. China is the largest mobile market — China Mobile alone has 873m customers — but the nation’s share of intellectual property has historically been small.

據(jù)杰富瑞(Jefferies)估算，現(xiàn)行4G標準的核心專利中，12.5%由高通所有。在截至今年6月的9個月內(nèi)，這家美國集團的專利費收入高達44億美元。中國是全球最大的移動市場——僅中國移動就擁有8.73億用戶——但在知識產(chǎn)權(quán)方面，中國擁有的份額一直很小。

The intellectual future involves more Sino influence. China owns a tenth of essential 5G patents, Jefferies notes. The country has moved to strengthen its role in the international regulatory bodies. So much so that US officials have complained about efforts by “authoritarian governments” to influence future networks.

未來中國在知識領域?qū)碛懈笥绊懥?。杰富瑞指出，在現(xiàn)有的5G核心專利中，中國擁有其中的十分之一。中國已著手增強自身在國際監(jiān)管機構(gòu)中的作用，美國官員還因此抱怨“一些威權(quán)政府”力圖影響未來的網(wǎng)絡。

The future of the standard rests in large part on the international co-operation necessary to make sure devices and protocols work across borders. The most basic difference between the approaches of the two countries concerns which frequencies 5G should use. US companies claim an advantage in high frequency millimetre waves. China will likely aim to be a first mover with its lower frequency approach, in hopes of swaying undecided countries.

未來5G標準會是什么樣，在很大程度上取決于為確保設備和協(xié)議可以跨境通用所需采取的國際合作。中美模式最根本的區(qū)別在于5G技術(shù)應該采用什么頻率。美國企業(yè)聲稱，高頻毫米波存在優(yōu)勢。而中國可能想憑借其較低頻率的模式成為一個先行者，希望以此影響那些尚未拿定主意的國家。

Mobile operators will have to bear most of the costs of implementation — estimated at Rmb1.65tn ($250bn) to 2025 by government researchers. Equipment manufacturers and patent owners will benefit via higher royalties. Shares in ZTE more than doubled this year. Investors betting on the group must simultaneously believe in the success of China’s patent push.

移動運營商將不得不承擔大部分實施成本——據(jù)政府研究人員估計，到2025年需耗資1.65萬億元人民幣(合2500億美元)。設備制造商和專利所有者將受益于更高的專利費用。今年以來，中興的股價已上漲了一倍多。那些押注中興的投資者，必然也相信中國在專利方面的努力將會取得成功。