Canada joins the US and UK to ban Huawei/ZTE 5G equipment
Chinese tech giant Huawei is facing further sanctions after Canada announced it would ban Huawei/ZTE 5G equipment.
Canada has joined the other members of the Five Eyes allies to ban Huawei/ZTE 5G equipment.
According to an announcement on Thursday, Canada said it plans to ban the use of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp 5G equipment. This is in a bid to protect national security.
As a result of this latest development, Canada joins the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in banning Huawei/ZTE 5G equipment. The five countries form the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa that;
“We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G networks. Providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it under the plans we’re announcing today.”
He added that companies will need to move their 5G gear by June 2024. Furthermore, companies using Huawei equipment will need to remove them by the end of 2027.
The decision didn’t come as a surprise but had been delayed due to the diplomatic tensions with China.
Canadian authorities first announced in September 2018 that they would review the possible threats to national security in adopting Huawei equipment.
In December of 2018, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a United States warrant. The incident created a long-running dispute with China that finally ended in September 2021 with Meng’s release.
Canada’s latest decision came after telecom companies in the country decided to use other companies’ 5G hardware.
The Chinese government issued a response to this decision, stating that;
“We will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese firms.”
Alykhan Velshi, vice president of corporate affairs for Huawei in Canada, stated in a recent interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp that the tech giant is still waiting to hear “what sort of national security threats they think Huawei poses.”
He added that Huawei still has 1,500 employees in Canada, with most of them in research and development. Velshi said Huawei sold products like mobile phones in Canada and would continue to do so.