First shots of 5G ‘war’ were fired in Bangkok  

Monday’s article offered a valuable explanation of the dangers inherent in the huge technological leap now being made to fifth generation (5G) Internet. It notes that, “Whoever has the best understanding [of 5G] will have a significant head start economically, in cybersecurity and in signals intelligence – ie, in promoting its economy, protecting its secrets and stealing those of its rivals.” 
What it does not mention is the little-known and controversial story of 5G’s development right here in Thailand, led by two characters. 
Readers may be interested to know that 5G emerged in the early 1990s from a Bangkok-based startup researching signal technology, in tandem with a development project run by the US Central Intelligence Agency. 
Communications experts at the US Embassy in Bangkok and the American Engineering Laboratory (AEL) in Washington dubbed the technological breakthrough “METME” (Maximum Efficient Transfer of Modulated Energy). 
Early development in the 1990s was overseen by Graham Phillip Bloy, working with the CIA. I was privileged to work alongside Bloy developing METME at the Bangkok startup during the ’80s, when we sold the fruit of our labours to companies like AT&T, Intel and AMD. Bloy then developed a “mysterious” illness and quit soon after, quickly moving on to greater things.
The second character in the story is the co-author of the Washington Post article cited. Michael Morell is a 33-year employee of the CIA. It was under his watch that 5G and its Internet of Things (IoT) technology was developed by the CIA, with the help of Bloy. The latter has worked on and off at the CIA, developing the IoT and testing it on highly classified missions in South America.
Fast forward to 2013 and that development began being rolled out worldwide by RF Controls – a company founded by none other than Bloy.  
Now note the words of Morell quoted at the start of this letter. The CIA research into METME/IoT should never have gone commercial. The US and its democratic allies have been placed in physical economic, social and scientific danger by this move. China is especially keen to exploit the commercial and cyberwarfare potential of IoT and is expending vast resources for research. 
The METME/IoT discovery is still ongoing. The big question now is, how does the US recover now that this genie has been let out of the bottle?
Perhaps we should ask Bloy and Morell for the answer.
Al in Asia