5G and the notion of network ideology, or: The limitations of sociotechnical imaginaries

Abstract

Transnational communication networks are produced in contestation between and among multinational corporations and nation-states. In the study of the governance of communication networks governance in science and technology studies, traditionally the emphasis has been on sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff & Kim, 2015) which encapsulate joint futures that produce institutional configurations and the discursive roles in the power tussle between various stakeholders. I argue that next to the studying of power over infrastructures and their governance by sociotechnical imaginaries, there is an increasing need to study how power is distributed and control is exercised through the shaping of the technological materiality of infrastructures, as is happening for instance in the process of standardization. To describe the workings of the distribution of power and the exercising of control through networks, governance, and standardization, I expand the concept of network ideologies (Bory, 2020) to show how several network ideologies are at play in the shaping of 5G networks. I base my analysis on the qualitative analysis of standard-setting processes through document analysis of mailinglist conversations, standards, and policy documents, as well as through the parallel operation of experimental 5G networks. The analysis shows that sociotechnical imaginaries are insufficient to show the political process of the distribution of power and opportunities for control through the production of transnational communication infrastructures. The notion of network ideologies might provide a basis to study the merging of internet and telecommunication infrastructures, their standard-setting, and their governance as well as the excommunication of the user by relinquishing its ability to understand and configure infrastructures.