While 5G promises significantly faster mobile data connections, it does also raise two privacy concerns, according a former researcher at Bell Labs and AT&T Labs Research …
The WSJ interviewed Dr Steve Bellovin, who is now a professor of computer science at Columbia University. The first issue, he says, is location data. While iOS allows you to determine which apps can access your location, and when they can do it, carriers can locate you at cell tower level regardless of those settings – and 5G will make that much more precise.
Bellovin also points to the fact that Huawei is the leader in 5G base stations, and there has been much speculation of late about the possibility of spyware in its telecoms kit.
You’re going to see a lot more indoor towers—in shopping malls, big office buildings, hotels and so on. So in that sense you are going to get far more precise.
Privacy concerns aside, there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the rollout of 5G. We’ve seen carriers using fake 5G labels for 4G services, another planning a service which is technically standards-compliant but won’t meet the speed promise of 5G, and another delaying its plans.
2020 is likely the year that 5G begins a widespread rollout, which is when we might also see the first 5G iPhone.
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