context: The debate around 5G standards is increasingly politicised, limiting the space for foreign and domestic firms to make decisions on the basis of their commercial interests.
Online media report that Lenovo did not support 5G standards proposed by Huawei at two meetings of the international industry association 3GPP in 2016, leading standards by Qualcomm and other foreign firms to be adopted instead. Outsiders should not overly politicise the standard-setting process, says Huang Ying 黄莹 Lenovo vice president. Debates are primarily technical and about company rather than national interests. Consensus is key, as a proposal is only accepted if it gets over 71 percent of votes. At meetings in Gothenburg (R1-86) and Lisbon (R1-86b), Lenovo did support the more established technology LDPC for channel coding over Huawei-backed Polar Code, but so did many other Chinese and overseas firms, says Huang. Around 3:00 AM, LDPC was finally accepted for larger packages but protocols for smaller packages remained unresolved. After Lisbon, Huawei and Lenovo discussed their differences. At the next meeting in Nevada (R1-91), Lenovo supported Polar Code and the industry eventually reached a compromise that allowed both LDPC and Polar Code to be used in different situations, explains Huang. Huawei publicly thanked Lenovo for its support. Huang's story is corroborated by 3GPP's public record and Wang Yanhui 王艳辉 China Mobile Phone Alliance secretary general, who attended the meetings, reports Caixin.