GINC Technology
Capability group

Connectivity, Cyber & Trust Technologies

The capacity to carry, secure and trust information: the optical and wireless frontier, the networks that survive infrastructure loss, the technologies that defend systems and data, and the technologies that establish digital trust.

Domain
Critical Technology · Hard Power
Identifier
factbase.org/cpg/PSFVFK6X07
Capabilities
5

Bounds. Holds communications, cyber and trust technology as national capacity; the deployed networks belong to Strategic Infrastructure's Communications & Digital Infrastructure, cyber and electromagnetic operations to National Security with the technology base held here, and standards position reads at the control layer with the diplomacy of standards in the influence domain.

Capabilities

The 5 capabilities

Advanced Optical Communication & PhotonicsRS01993T07The capacity to advance optical communication and photonics, fibre systems, free-space optics and the photonic components that set the speed and capacity of networks.Research21.7k papers +1%China 23%Patents76.5k families +24%China 61%Advanced Wireless CommunicationQRYJVA801ZThe capacity to lead in advanced wireless, current and next-generation mobile systems, non-terrestrial networks and the radio technologies and standards positions that shape them.Research3.2k papers −13%China 24%Patents312.2k families +32%China 56%Resilient & Infrastructure-Independent NetworksQ2BGP4XP0SThe capacity to communicate when infrastructure fails or is denied: mesh and self-organising networks, undersea and hostile-environment communication, and links that need no fixed network.Research14k papers −33%India 21%Patents13.6k families −6%China 68%Protective Cybersecurity Technologies4MZ9YZKS2JThe capacity to develop the technologies that protect systems and data, defensive tooling, secure architectures, detection and response technology, and the security engineering beneath them.Research7.1k papers +105%India 18%Patents216k families +74%China 71%Privacy, Identity & Trust TechnologiesNQRD0HNM08The capacity to establish digital trust: privacy-enhancing technologies, digital identity, cryptographic and distributed systems of record, and the technologies that let strangers transact and states verify.Research58.4k papers +325%China 19%Patents166.7k families +43%China 65%

The capabilities compared

Papers and patent families, 2020–2024, with growth on the five years before and the leading nation in each.

CapabilityPapersGrowthResearch leaderFamiliesGrowthPatent leader
Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics21.7k+1%China 23%76.5k+24%China 61%
Advanced Wireless Communication3.2k−13%China 24%312.2k+32%China 56%
Resilient & Infrastructure-Independent Networks14k−33%India 21%13.6k−6%China 68%
Protective Cybersecurity Technologies7.1k+105%India 18%216k+74%China 71%
Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies58.4k+325%China 19%166.7k+43%China 65%
Research

Who publishes it

Papers by year for each capability, and the nations' shares of the group's papers, 2020–2024. A capability that shares a v0.0 topic with another counts it in both.

  1. 1China17.5%18,309 papers
  2. 2India13.5%14,095 papers
  3. 3United States8.0%8,401 papers
  4. 4United Kingdom3.8%3,943 papers
  5. 5Saudi Arabia2.2%2,264 papers
  6. 6Canada2.1%2,212 papers
  7. 7Italy2.0%2,112 papers
  8. 8Germany1.9%1,935 papers
  9. 9South Korea1.8%1,892 papers
  10. 10Australia1.6%1,690 papers
Patents

Who patents it

Patent families by priority year for each capability, and the origin nations' shares of the group's families, 2020–2024. A family in two capabilities' classes counts in both.

  1. 1China62.6%491,277 families
  2. 2United States14.7%115,559 families
  3. 3South Korea7.5%59,058 families
  4. 4Japan5.7%44,373 families
  5. 5Germany1.6%12,209 families
  6. 6Finland1.2%9,313 families
  7. 7Sweden1.1%8,777 families
  8. 8Taiwan1.0%7,838 families
  9. 9France0.7%5,574 families
  10. 10Singapore0.5%3,854 families
Companies

Who makes it

The companies across the group's capabilities, the global leaders and the leading firms of every region.

220 companies in Connectivity, Cyber & Trust Technologies, from 41 nations across 8 regions; the leading 25 below. Sorted by how experts see each company's global relevance in its strongest capability of the group, from very high to very low.

  1. Very high19 companies
  2. 1

    ChinaHuawei

    World's largest RAN vendor and the top holder of 5G standard-essential patents, leading 3GPP contributions and 5G-Advanced/6G research.

    In Advanced Wireless Communication

    Very high relevance · Hardware & devices · China, Shenzhen · founded 1987 · 208k staff

  3. 2

    United StatesL3Harris Technologies

    Largest supplier of tactical radios and mesh-capable waveforms (AN/PRC-163/167 Falcon IV, TSM/ANW2), the backbone of US and allied infrastructure-independent tactical networks.

    In Resilient & Infrastructure-Independent Networks

    Very high relevance · Systems integration · United States, Melbourne · founded 1895 · 47k staff

  4. 3

    United StatesMicrosoft

    Largest security vendor by revenue, with Defender (XDR/endpoint), Sentinel (SIEM), Entra (identity) and Purview, and among the top international patent applicants in this field.

    In Protective Cybersecurity Technologies

    Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Redmond · founded 1975 · 228k staff

  5. 4

    United StatesCoherent Corp.

    Former II-VI/Finisar; one of the largest makers of datacom and telecom optical transceivers, lasers, InP and VCSEL chips, and wavelength-selective switches.

    In Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics

    Very high relevance · Components & subsystems · United States, Saxonburg · founded 1971 · 26k staff

  6. 5

    United StatesPalo Alto Networks

    Largest pure-play cybersecurity firm (next-generation firewalls, Prisma SASE, Cortex XSIAM, Unit 42); it completed its $25bn acquisition of Israel's CyberArk (identity security) in February 2026.

    In Protective Cybersecurity Technologies

    Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Santa Clara · founded 2005 · 15k staff

  7. 6

    United StatesQualcomm

    Leading designer of 4G/5G modems and RF front-end chips (Snapdragon X series) and one of the largest licensors of cellular standard-essential patents.

    In Advanced Wireless Communication

    Very high relevance · Design · United States, San Diego · founded 1985 · 49k staff

  8. 7

    United StatesSpaceX

    Operates Starlink, the largest LEO constellation, with laser inter-satellite links and direct-to-cell service that provide connectivity independent of terrestrial infrastructure, proven in Ukraine and disasters.

    In Resilient & Infrastructure-Independent Networks

    Very high relevance · Operations & infrastructure · United States, Starbase · founded 2002 · 13k staff

  9. 8

    FranceThales

    Through the former Gemalto, Thales is a top supplier of SIM/eSIM, payment and ID cards, ePassports, hardware security modules (Luna HSM) and the CipherTrust encryption and key-management platform.

    In Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies

    Very high relevance · Systems integration · France, Paris · founded 1893 · 83k staff

  10. 9

    United StatesCiena

    Leading coherent optical networking vendor outside China; its WaveLogic 6 modems were the first to reach 1.6 Tb/s per wavelength.

    In Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics

    Very high relevance · Hardware & devices · United States, Hanover, Maryland · founded 1992

  11. 10

    United StatesCrowdStrike

    Market leader in cloud-delivered endpoint detection and response through its Falcon platform, which has expanded into cloud, identity and next-gen SIEM.

    In Protective Cybersecurity Technologies

    Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Austin · founded 2011 · 10k staff

  12. 11

    SwedenEricsson

    Leading Western 5G RAN and core vendor and major SEP holder, central to 3GPP standardisation and 6G research.

    In Advanced Wireless Communication

    Very high relevance · Hardware & devices · Sweden, Stockholm · founded 1876 · 94k staff

  13. 12

    FranceIDEMIA

    Leading biometric identity firm (formed from Oberthur Technologies and Safran Morpho) whose IDEMIA Public Security biometrics and secure transactions businesses serve border, police and national ID programmes worldwide; its Smart Identity unit was sold to IN Groupe in 2024.

    In Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies

    Very high relevance · Software & platforms · France, Courbevoie · founded 2017

  14. 13

    United StatesMotorola Solutions

    Leading mission-critical LMR/TETRA/P25 vendor that in 2025 acquired Silvus Technologies, maker of StreamCaster MN-MIMO mobile ad hoc mesh radios used widely on drones and soldiers.

    In Resilient & Infrastructure-Independent Networks

    Very high relevance · Hardware & devices · United States, Chicago, Illinois · founded 1928 · 21k staff

  15. 14

    United StatesFortinet

    Ships more firewall units than any other vendor, built on its own FortiGate security ASICs and FortiOS, alongside SASE and SecOps products.

    In Protective Cybersecurity Technologies

    Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Sunnyvale · founded 2000 · 14k staff

  16. 15

    FinlandNokia

    Top-three mobile network equipment vendor with Nokia Bell Labs 6G research and a large cellular patent licensing business (Nokia Technologies).

    In Advanced Wireless Communication

    Very high relevance · Hardware & devices · Finland, Espoo · founded 1865 · 78k staff

  17. 16

    United StatesOkta

    Largest independent identity-as-a-service vendor, providing workforce and customer identity (Auth0) single sign-on, MFA and lifecycle management to tens of thousands of organisations.

    In Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies

    Very high relevance · Software & platforms · United States, San Francisco · founded 2009 · 5,914 staff

  18. 17

    United StatesCorning

    Inventor of low-loss optical fibre and the largest optical fibre and cable producer outside China (SMF-28, Optical Communications segment).

    In Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics

    Very high relevance · Advanced materials · United States, Corning, New York · founded 1851

  19. 18

    ChinaZhongji Innolight

    Ranked the world's largest optical transceiver maker by revenue; it is a leading supplier of 800G and 1.6T modules to hyperscale AI clusters.

    In Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics

    Very high relevance · Components & subsystems · China, Suzhou · founded 2008

  20. 19

    United StatesLumentum

    Leading supplier of EML and CW lasers, tunable lasers, ROADM WSS modules and transceivers; it also owns the former Oclaro and NeoPhotonics.

    In Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics

    Very high relevance · Components & subsystems · United States, San Jose, California · founded 2015

  21. High6 companies
  22. 20

    United StatesBroadcom

    Supplies VCSEL/EML lasers, PAM4 optical DSPs and co-packaged optics (Bailly/Tomahawk CPO) for AI data-centre interconnect.

    In Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics

    High relevance · Design · United States, Palo Alto · founded 1961 · 37k staff

  23. 21

    ChinaAnt Group

    Among the largest global filers of blockchain and privacy-computing patents (including via Advanced New Technologies), operating AntChain/ZAN consortium blockchain and the Yinyu privacy-preserving computation platform.

    In Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies

    High relevance · Operations & infrastructure · China, Hangzhou · founded 2014

  24. 22

    United StatesCisco Systems

    Major security vendor for firewalls, Duo identity, Talos threat intelligence and Splunk SIEM/SOAR (acquired 2024 for $28bn).

    In Protective Cybersecurity Technologies

    High relevance · Hardware & devices · United States, San Jose · founded 1984 · 86k staff

  25. 23

    South KoreaSamsung Electronics

    Supplies 5G/vRAN network equipment, Exynos modems and handsets, ranks among top 5G SEP holders and leads Korean 6G research.

    In Advanced Wireless Communication

    High relevance · Components & subsystems · South Korea, Suwon · founded 1969 · 268k staff

  26. 24

    United StatesAlphabet (Google DeepMind)

    Google Security Operations, Mandiant incident response and threat intelligence, and Wiz cloud security (its $32bn acquisition closed in March 2026) make it a top-tier security player.

    In Protective Cybersecurity Technologies

    High relevance · Software & platforms · United States, Mountain View · founded 1998 · 183k staff

  27. 25

    IsraelElbit Systems

    Makes E-LynX software-defined MANET radios and tactical networking systems fielded by Israel and numerous NATO and Asian armies.

    In Resilient & Infrastructure-Independent Networks

    High relevance · Systems integration · Israel, Haifa · founded 1966 · 20k staff

All 220 in the Companies table →