>European mobile customers as a result pay only about a third of what Americans do. But that’s why European carriers invest only half as much per customer and t

>European mobile customers as a result pay only about a third of what Americans do. But that’s why European carriers invest only half as much per customer and their networks are commensurately worse, Strand said: “Getting a 5G signal in Germany is like finding a Biden supporter at a Trump rally.” As usual these articles just go off vibes. 5G coverage in Germany is at 89%[1] compared to like 70% in the US. The obsession with market caps and gigantic firms and the complete absence of the effects these firms have on democracy makes sense if you're in the US-China cold war mindset that's present in the article but we do not need to compete on this. Being German I remember this same discourse from the late 90s when Britain was praised as the economic frontrunner, we all must be like London, huge and innovative in finance, etc. Today Poland is wealthier than Britain minus London, and UK productivity is 30% lower than in France or Germany. Small and medium sized private firms were allegedly unable to compete, we should adopt the cutthroat US managerial chase for profits was the tenor at the time, yet weirdly enough it was precisely the Mittelstand that survived the China shock. [1]https://www.rcrwireless.com/20230926/5g/german-telcos-rapidly-expand-5g-coverage-germany-regulator https://www.rcrwireless.com/20230926/5g/german-telcos-rapidl...