5G kick-off in India and Brazil: interstate competition, national systems of innovation, and catch-up implications for the Global South

This essay presents some main features of the kick-off of 5G in India and Brazil extracting implication for Global South catchup. Based on some main neo-Schumpeterian contributions on long-waves, long-cycles, and catch-up, attention has been paid to the interstate competition between the US and China, the global pressures and linkages of the Indian and Brazilian National Systems of Innovation, and the development of key infrastructures and productive capabilities by the domestic and multinational firms involved in the kick-off of 5G. Two main Global South cases capturing the interrelated geopolitical and technological tensions of the 21st century transitioning capitalism are discussed.