What is the deal with 5G?
And why are the U.S. and China
going to war over it?
Well, we'll try
and break it down for you
in our ongoing segment,
"If You Don't Know,
Now You know."
-♪ ♪
-(cheering, applause)
So, what exactly is
the big deal about 5G?
Because you might think it's
just 4G but a little bit faster.
But it's actually a lot faster.
So fast, in fact,
that it could change the world.
NEWSMAN: The new world
 of 5G technology promises
 to transform our lives,
 connecting millions of devices
 and enabling everything
 from driverless cars
 to smart homes.
 Up to 20 times faster
 than the 4G most of us use now,
 5G's lightning-fast technology
 will accelerate
 and interconnect everything.
 To download a two-hour film
 on 3G
 would take about 26 hours.
 On 4G, you'd
 be waiting six minutes.
 And on 5G, you'll
 be ready to watch your film
 in just over
 three and a half seconds.
Damn. You could download
an entire movie
in three seconds.
That's gonna be fast.
I mean,
we'll still spend 45 minutes
trying to decide
which movie to download...
but once we've decided,
we'll need to go to bed
'cause we're tired,
but tomorrow,
three seconds, my friends!
And 5G isn't just
about download speeds.
It's a game changer
for everything.
Like, with 5G,
you can have cities
where everything communicates.
Like, doctors
can perform surgeries
from the other side
of the world.
Can you imagine a world
where your videos never buffer?
Right? Your calls never drop?
That would be amazing.
Except I guess
now you could never fake
a call dropping with 5G.
Yeah, 'cause
that excuse is gone.
You'd be like, "Uh, uh,
I'm los... I'm losing...
you're breaking up."
Be like, "Mother (bleep),
you're not breaking up!
We got 5G!"
Be like,
"Yeah, yeah, you're right.
-Carry on, Grandma."
-(laughter)
Yes, my grandma
is Samuel L. Jackson.
-(laughter)
-So...
so, look, there's no denying,
the technology is great.
But... why do China and the U.S.
care so much about who makes it?
Well, it's the same reason
they care about anything:
the Benjamins, baby.
NEWSMAN: When the U.S. won the
 4G race earlier this decade,
 it provided
 a nearly $100 billion boost
 to gross domestic product.
 And the stakes of the 5G race
 are even higher.
 If the U.S. wins,
 it would create
 an estimated three million jobs
 and add approximately
 $500 billion to GDP.
That's right,
if America wins the 5G race,
that could bring millions
of jobs and $500 billion
to the country's GDP.
$500 billion.
You know how hard it is
to get $500 billion?
Like, you'd have to marry and
divorce Jeff Bezos five times.
-(laughter) -And I mean
after the fourth time,
he'd probably catch on--
he'd be like,
"I think you don't love me."
"What? Me, Jeff?"
And the fight about 5G
isn't just about money
and downloading Avengers 
like that.
No, it's also about power.
Because if you control 5G,
you have access to everything
people are doing online,
which is everything.
And right now,
the best 5G technology
is made by a Chinese company
called Huawei.
And because the Chinese company
is Chinese...
many governments don't trust
how secure it's gonna be.
NEWSMAN: Huawei may be
 best known to most people
 for making phones,
 but it's also a leading player
 in building the infrastructure
 for all our communications.
 Critics fear that
 allowing it to build 5G
 could enable
 the Chinese state to spy on
 or even switch off
 the flow of data
 we will all depend on.
Imagine that.
If Huawei becomes the leading
5G provider in the world,
then China can spy
on everyone,
which is terrible,
because that's what America
wants to do.
Yeah. And I know you're judging.
"Well, if America wants to do
it, then how do they judge...?"
That's not the point, all right.
You want to do it first.
It's like when you cut someone
off in traffic
and then someone else cuts
in front of you, you're like,
"Hey, asshole,
that was my move!"
But those are the stakes:
job, money and power.
And I'm not gonna try
and bore you
with all the technical details,
but while America is developing
its own 5G,
China's 5G is so far ahead.
Like, they're basically
gonna set the trends.
It's like how back in the day
there used to be
a fight between DVD
and laser disk. Yeah.
And if you're wondering,
"What the hell is laser disk?"
Exactly, yeah.
That's America's 5G.
So this is a race many people
are already saying
America has lost.
Luckily-- and I can't believe
I'm saying this--
America is lucky that you have
a maniac on your team
who's willing to play dirty.
President Trump has signed
an executive order
banning U.S. companies
from using telecom equipment
deemed to be
a national security threat.
 And that's a direct shot
 at China
 and its tech giant Huawei.
TV REPORTER: As the U.S. clamp
 down on the company causes
 a major domino effect, the
 U.K.'s biggest mobile network
 pulling Huawei
 from its 5G launch,
 while three of Japan's
 mobile operators
 have stopped taking orders,
 or delayed the summer release
 of a new Huawei phone.
Donald J. Mother-effing-Trump.
This guy could see America
wasn't gonna win,
so he just got a crowbar
and pulled a Tonya Harding
on China's 5G.
Just went in straight there.
Yeah, the man might not know
what 5G is,
but he does know how to mess up
other people's shit.
Just in there.
Bam!
(cheers and applause)
And I'm gonna be honest
with you.
I don't actually blame
Donald Trump,
because I don't know how else
America can win this race.
Because even if America
does manage
to cripple Huawei and China,
it's not like America
will suddenly have great 5G.
All right, you won't just have
5G overnight.
Unless...
America just pretends
that it does.
TV REPORTER: AT&T is putting
a fake 5G logo
on iPhones and iPads now.
 The company confirming
 to PC Magazine
 the the new icon is gonna
 show up when users download
 Apple's latest beta version
 of iOS 12.2.
 But it's not really 5G.
 AT&T just changed the name
 for its 4G LTE Advanced network
 to 5GE.
 The "e” stands for evolution.
(laughter)
Okay, guys, that...
That's really sad.
AT&T is just gonna lie
and put another sticker--
Like, it's like
you have a Smart car,
and then you just tape
Lamborghini on the side of it.
"Check it out, man,
I'm driving a Lambo now.
Zero to 60
in four minutes flat.”
But...
Seeing as it's a race
that might be lost,
AT&T might be on
to something here.
Because this is considered
the new space race.
So maybe America
can win this race
the same way it won
the last one:
Just fake it, baby.
