Huawei 5G decision won’t be made based on politics: Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will rely on expert advice and not pollute with politics its decision on whether to ban Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from Canada’s 5G networks, comments that come amid domestic and international political pressure over the prospect of a ban. Trudeau was asked about how soon his government is away from a decision on whether the country will ban Huawei from next generation networks as other countries move against the Chinese telecom equipment company and amid heightened tensions with China after Canada arrested its CFO. He did not say, or hint at a timeline, but emphasized that there’s a lot at stake in the “extremely important decision that we will make.” “There are millions of dollars -- billions of dollars -- at stake in technology and in communications infrastructure,” he said at a year-end press conference Wednesday. “There is also the extraordinary imperative that Canadians and people around the world expect to be kept safe and free from interference and cyber attacks.” He said it should “not at all be a political decision” but one informed by experts and based on recommendations by Canada’s intelligence and security agencies, who are in communication with Canada’s ‘Five Eyes’ partners -- those who have banned the company and others, like the U.K., who have not. U.S. politicians have been pressuring Canada to bar the company from participating in its 5G infrastructure amid concerns it could facilitate Chinese spying, and Canada’s Conservative party has been persistently calling for a ban, while Huawei’s chair Ken Hu told foreign press Tuesday that the West is scapegoating the company and that they should have to prove it poses a security risk. Canadian officials have not said when a decision on whether the country will ban the company from 5G will take place, although they have confirmed there is a timeline for the government’s national security review that covers the matter. A Globe and Mail report earlier this month pegged potential costs of such a ban for telecom companies at about $1 billion, quoting anonymous sources. But financial analysts have said it would likely be manageable for Canada’s big telecoms and would only affect future builds. A report by Scotiabank’s telecom analyst Jeff Fan said even if a ban happens, it would likely only be for next generation networks, and that carriers “would not have to rip and replace 3G/4G equipment,” the Dec. 10 analyst note said. “If the ban pertains only to next generation (i.e., 5G), then we believe the disruption will be more manageable over time because there is limited 5G equipment at the cell sites today and no gears would have to be replaced.” The hit to the industry would depend on the extent of the ban, but Fan notes that of the major wireless operators, BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. have been “relatively more invested with Huawei,” although not at the security-sensitive network core. However, it said if a ban happens and extends to existing LTE networks, that could cost the Canadian industry as much as $1.4 billion, Fan said. “If the ban extends to current or older generations (i.e., 3G or 4GLTE), then carriers would have to visit each site and replacing the equipment would obviously be very costly,” Fan added. Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi said last week in a note he believes the estimates produced by the Globe and Mail article relates to a “situation that is unlikely to materialize” and while a ban “would not be ideal,” it would “still be manageable for large Canadian telcos.” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale dismissed a report last week by Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald that asserted Canada will soon bar the company -- within weeks -- from 5G networks, saying that it is only speculation. The report did not identify a source for the claim. This month, tensions quickly escalated between China and Canada after Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver at the start of the month and was summoned for a U.S. extradition trial for fraud charges. — With reporting by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Huawei 5G decision won’t be made based on politics: Trudeau

News | December 19, 2018

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Huawei 5G decision won’t be made based on politics: Trudeau

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