The USA’s determination to ‘win the 5G race’ is leading to all kinds of unusual government interventions in the supposedly free market economy’s mobile industry. The acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom was blocked, even though the latter was on the point of transferring its domicile to the USA from Asia. Proposals to accelerate US 5G build-outs with a government-backed wholesale network are still doing the rounds. 5G is central to the escalating USA-China trade and security wars, which have led to the barring of Huawei and ZTE from infrastructure contracts, and may spark further sanctions. And the Department of Justice has effectively warned a Federal Trade Commission judge to tread carefully before she issues any penalties against Qualcomm which might…