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- Convenors:
-
Rory Sharp
(York University)
Adrien Tournier (CNAM-HT2S)
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- Chairs:
-
Niels ten Oever
(University of Amsterdam)
Rory Sharp (York University)
Adrien Tournier (CNAM-HT2S)
- Format:
- Combined Format Open Panel
Short Abstract:
It is clear that 5G makes a difference, but for a variety of factors it is far from settled what difference that difference makes. This combined format open panel seeks to convene new conversations about the transformations accompanying 5G, both to the information environment and network topology.
Long Abstract:
At the intersection of geopolitical struggle between global superpowers, domestic panics about viral conspiracy theories, and rapidly changing network infrastructures, 5G technology has emerged as a unique object of concern and contestation. This combined format open panel invites participants to present new research and engage in roundtable discussion on the transformations affected by the rollout of 5G devices and telecommunication networks. Such changes are broadly distributed and uniquely suited to the modalities offered by STS. They encompass global trade tensions, novel design choices by standard setters, and sustainable development goals, as well as renewed campaigns to define the place of wireless technology in contemporary society. To adequately address these transformations and the challenges they bring with them, critical scholarship on 5G must navigate between the quicksand of conspiratorial disinformation and the mirage of heavily financialized technosolutionism. This panel seeks to gather together a variety of researchers working in diverse locales on different aspects of 5G, in order to identify common obstacles, share collective insights, and advance the vocabulary of critical 5G research. Of special concern are the material contexts in which 5G technologies are situated, the workings of power in telecommunication networks, and their potentials for democratic engagement. What can the socio-technical differences 5G makes tell us about moments of transition? With this panel, we hope to make 5G matter as more than a marketing fad or lurid conspiracy theory and transform the terrain of 5G research in STS and related fields. We welcome proposals for paper presentations, workshops, and dialogue sessions.
Accepted contributions:
Session 1Natalia Orrego Tapia (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
Long abstract:
The following paper delineates the recent history of activism against cellphone antennas in Chile, starting with the first protests under the expansion of the 2G network at the beginning of the millennium and ending with the current demands of organisations and activists against the expansion of the 5G network. This presentation is part of ongoing doctoral research about the implementation of the 5G network in the country, mixing archival research, ethnography and social media observations to give a dense characterisation of the process.
The preliminary analysis shows waves of local protests that push - but also validate - regulatory discussions. These protests, over 120 in numerous territories, have a common thread regarding the concerns about the biological effects of electromagnetic radiation. Even though the National Tower Law of 2012 indirectly recognises possible adverse biological effects, mainly in antenna-saturated areas, the lack of solutions to lower radiation remains a core claim through infrastructure generations. Other focal points have changed in priority, such as the unpleasing aesthetics of phone masts or their impact on property value.
This brief history amplifies the present, giving nuances to the stigma around 5G critics. The temporally diverse protests create peculiar activism, where citizens know the importance of mobile telecommunications for economic development, socio-natural disaster management, and more. Hence, their politics is not against the infrastructure as a whole but against its hyper presence, its hyper visibility. The paper closes by proposing the concept of ‘saturation activism’ to understand the tension between needing and questioning radiant infrastructure.
Diego Vicentin (Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP)
Long abstract:
How do 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems relate to each other? 5G networks are meant to be the infrastructure that enables AI applications to be deployed outdoors, connecting a multitude of “smart” devices and setting the stage to increase automation both in rural and urban areas. On the other hand, machine learning applications that run within 5G infrastructure should be responsible for managing critical resources and assuring that the network operates accordingly, both in terms of connection reliability and speed. This relation of co-dependence that was once celebrated as a "marriage" between 5G and AI is, in fact, a fundamental element of an envisioned new cycle of capitalist accumulation which strengthens the centrality of surveillance technologies as means of exploitation of bodies, subjectivities and the environment through data extraction for monetization and appropriation of surplus value. It is the purpose of this paper to shed light on the development of 5G networks and its necessary alliance with AI systems. We'll delve into specific instances where AI operates within 5G infrastructure such as network slicing and self-healing capabilities. Additionally, we'll explore AI applications facilitated by 5G, such as digitizing agribusiness and other latency-sensitive tasks. Through this, we aim to intricately outline the integration of 5G and AI, along with envisioning some of the negative impacts over bodies, subjectivities and the environment particularly in the Global South.
Adrien Tournier (CNAM-HT2S)
Long abstract:
Examining the deployment of ongoing 5G networks in millimeter waves through a case study, we explore the tension between techno-scientific promises associated with this generation of mobile infrastructure and the negotiations, limitations, and challenges at various scales that shape 5G connectivity. Additionally, we investigate the potential future effects on digital use-cases and the role of 5G in contemporary society. Utilizing ethnographic observation and document analysis of 5G expectations in France from 2015 to 2023, this paper delves into how expectations and use-cases are formulated, contributing to socio-technical transitions in mobile telecommunications infrastructure. The materialization of 5G networks is an ongoing process, tempering initial hype while concurrently establishing new forms of mobile digital networks. This process extends digital connectivity and data gathering on a longer time scale than initially perceived during the intense global controversy surrounding 5G in 2019 and 2020.
We examine the ongoing development of 5G to glean insights into sociotechnical transitions within mobile infrastructures and its implications for digital criticism, infrastructural contestation and controversies.
Harrison Smith (University of Sheffield)
Long abstract:
This paper examines the political economies of 5G ‘small cell’ wireless telecommunications masts and their deployment within the context of a geopolitical conflict between Western and Chinese nations. Small cells are a ‘backbone’ component of 5th Generation Wireless telecommunications networks that uses low-powered radio antennas for ‘plugging’ various gaps in network propagation, typically in urban areas and indoor environments. Estimates predict that small cell radio networks will significantly increase to ensure sufficient network densification needed to scale 5G in the future. Recent spectrum auctions have likewise opened up new parts of the electromagnetic spectrum for 5G small cell networks.
Western countries have sought to regulate if not completely ‘rip and replace’ Chinese manufacturers of 5G kit such as Huawei from national networks, under the pretence of maintaining national security, network resilience, and economic competitiveness. Crucial to such concerns is a perceived crisis of 5G that would open up risks of foreign surveillance due to the technical affordances of small cells for data gathering.
By drawing on legal fillings and government documentation, this paper examines key policy changes that have emerged to govern the deployment of 5G small cell masts within the US and UK. The paper focuses on the material aspects of infrastructure that have reconfigured legislation on land use policies, supply-chain diversification, and standards settings. These changes contribute to an understanding of the political and material forces shaping 5G deployment.
Maxigas . (critical infrastructure lab)
Long abstract:
5G is studied from the perspective of international standardisation process and the vantage point of deployment on field sites. Comparatively little attention is paid to what happens between standardisation and deployment: namely, in the implementation phase. This is a missed opportunity to witness the materialisation of standards and infrastructures, where defaults for deployment are decided, interfaces for integration are defined, and the range viable actors in the market segment is being determined. In this paper I present empirical evidence for infrastructural contestation, ideological struggle and the pursuit of technological sovereignty in the domain of 5G implementation.
Open implementations of 5G standards are a good entry point to study the problematic of implementation. The open development process is more accessible to critical empirical investigations than other single-vendor efforts. Multiple actors negotiate their respective positions similar to the standardisation process, but this time on the level of material configurations. Finally, open technologies are often framed as enablers of technological sovereignty in face of hegemonic technological regimes, in this case formulated as supply chain dependencies.
I contextualise code ethnographical observations within policy analysis and the critical political economy of telecommunications. Beyond mapping contestation, the ultimate goal is to identify pitfalls and possibilities for critical interventions from civil society with a view to advance the public interest in telecommunications. In line with this goal, I mobilise the concept of ideology — specifically infrastructural ideology — to rethink technological sovereignty as a dynamic concept where civil society, state and capital all have roles to play.