Does It Matter If China Beats the US to Build a 5G Network?

Why exactly is it so important for the US to build 5G networks before China? The benefits of 5G are obvious, but today the US doesn't have the fastest home broadband speeds, nor the fastest or most widely available 4G networks, and often lags countries such as Finland, Japan, and South Korea in such metrics. Why would the US's economic strength erode if it's a bit late to the 5G party? A widely cited 2016 report by consulting firm Accenture estimates that the construction and maintenance of 5G networks in the US could result in 3 million jobs and a $500 billion boost to GDP. But would all those jobs end up overseas if China is the first country with a nationwide 5G network? Not necessarily says Sanjay Dhar, a managing director at Accenture who worked on the report. "Even if China wins the race to build various 5G technologies, it won’t be a zero-sum game,” he says. Telecommunications industry analyst Jeff Kagan says the competition between the US and China keeps the US motivated to push 5G forward, but he doesn't believe that it will make a big difference to the US economy in the long term if the US is second or third.