Next generation of unicorns, 5G is coming soon, and Czech Republic eyes Huawei | TECH(feed)

HEY EVERYONE, WELCOME BACK TO TECH FEED I’M JULIET BEAUCHAMP. 5-G NETWORK ADOPTION IS FAST APPROACHING, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR FOREIGN COMPANIES THAT WANT TO BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE? AND WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT UNICORN STARTUP? ALL THAT AND MORE ON TODAY’S EPISODE. STICK AROUND.

5-G ADOPTION IS COMING SOON, WHICH WILL MEAN BIG THINGS FOR CONSUMERS. 5G NETWORKS COULD MEAN FAST INTERNET ACCESS IN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE WIRED ACCESS IS UNAVAILABLE OR UNRELIABLE. BUT WHAT DOES 5G MEAN FOR ENTERPRISES? AS MOBILE PROVIDERS BULK UP THEIR NETWORKS, BUSINESSES CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIGHER SPEEDS AND LOWER LATENCY WITH A VARIETY OF ROUTERS, GATEWAYS AND MOBILE HOTSPOTS. 5G WILL BECOME WIDELY AVAILABLE LATER THIS YEAR. BUT, EXPECT TO HEAR SOME CONTROVERSY ABOUT THESE EMERGING NETWORKS--CHINESE TECH GIANT HUAWEI HAS ALREADY BEEN BANNED FROM CONTRIBUTING TO 5-G INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE U-S, NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA. THE U-S GOVERNMENT MAINTAINS THAT HUAWEI USES ITS TECH TO SPY ON USERS.

AND THE U-S ISN’T THE ONLY NATION DEALING WITH HUAWEI DRAMA. HUAWEI HAS THREATENED THE CZECH REPUBLIC WITH A LAWSUIT DUE TO THE COUNTRY’S CLAIM THAT HUAWEI POSES A CYBERSECURITY RISK. THAT ALLEGED RISK MEANS IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY FOR HUAWEI TO BE ALLOWED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC’S 5-G INFRASTRUCTURE. HUAWEI FIRED BACK AT THE CZECH GOVERNMENT IN A LETTER AND CLAIMED IT CANNOT REPRESENT A CYBERSECURITY THREAT AS PER THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY’S WARNING. AND THERE’S SOME TRUTH TO THAT--MOST OF THESE ANTI-HUAWEI CLAIMS ARE MADE WITHOUT PROVIDING CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING TO THE PUBLIC. RATHER, GOVERNMENTS IN THE U-S AND, IN THIS CASE THE CZECH REPUBLIC DEFEND THEIR SPECULATION BY POINTING TO A LAW THAT REQUIRES CHINESE COMPANIES TO COOPERATE WITH CHINA’S GOVERNMENT AND INTELLIGENCE EFFORTS. OF COURSE, THESE GOVERNMENTS COULD HAVE PROOF THAT THEY’RE NOT MAKING PUBLIC. IT’S A COMPLICATED SITUATION, BUT WE’LL BE SURE TO CONTINUE TO UPDATE YOU AS MORE UNFOLDS.

SINCE THE ADOPTION OF GDPR LAST MAY, THE EU HAS REPORTED NEARLY SIXTY THOUSAND DATA BREACHES. BUT, EUROPEAN REGULATORS HAVE ONLY ISSUED 91 FINES. AND NOT ALL OF THOSE FINES COME AS A RESULT OF A TRADITIONAL DATA BREACH--IN AUSTRIA, FOR EXAMPLE, A FINE WAS ISSUED FOR OPERATING AN UNAUTHORIZED SURVEILLANCE CAMERA. SO WHY SO MANY BREACHES AND SO FEW FINES? WELL, IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THE SHEER NUMBER OF DISCLOSED BREACHES HAS CREATED A HUGE BACKLOG FOR REGULATORS. AND IT’S POSSIBLE THAT HIGHER-PROFILE CASES ARE TAKE PRIORITY. BUT THAT’S JUST SPECULATION. REGARDLESS, PLENTY OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE REPORTED A DATA BREACH ARE STILL WAITING TO HEAR IF THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY A FINE.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF START-UP UNICORNS ARE INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES, ACCORDING TO RESEARCH BY C-B INSIGHTS AND THE NEW YORK TIMES. UNICORNS ARE START-UPS VALUED AT ONE BILLION DOLLARS--THINK UBER, PINTEREST OR AIRBNB. THOSE ALL HAVE MASS APPEAL, AND THEY’RE MARKETED TOWARDS THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS A SIMPLER WAY TO COMPLETE BASIC TASKS. BUT NOW, SOFTWARE COMPANIES FOR ALL TYPES OF INDUSTRIES--FARMING OR BANKING, FOR EXAMPLE--COULD BE THE NEXT START UPS TO REACH THAT COVETED ONE BILLION VALUATION. ENTERPRISES ARE LOOKING TO HOW TECH CAN SIMPLIFY THEIR BUSINESS AND SAVE THEM MONEY, SO THERE’S A GROWING APPEAL FOR THESE NICHER START-UPS. SO WHAT WILL THE NEXT TECH UNICORN? LET ME KNOW YOUR PREDICTION IN THE COMMENTS.

THANKS FOR WATCHING TODAY’S EPISODE OF TECH FEED--BE SURE TO LIKE THIS VIDEO AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL. AND WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.