To Protect National Security, Canada Bans Use Of 5G Equipment From Huawei And ZTE

Huawei is again banned from use in Canada. (photo; doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA – The Canadian government on Thursday, May 19 announced plans to ban the use of 5G equipment from China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp to protect national security. They have now joined the so-called intelligence sharing network, Five Eyes.

"We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G network," Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa. "Providers who have already installed this equipment will be asked to discontinue its use and remove it under the plans we are announcing today."

Champagne added that companies will be required to remove their 5G equipment by June 2024, and will not be replaced. Companies using their 4G equipment should also be phased out by the end of 2027.

The decision, widely expected, has been delayed amid diplomatic tensions with China. The other Five Eyes network, which includes Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, has banned the equipment.

In September 2018, Canada first announced it would review possible threats to national security in adopting Huawei equipment.

Then in December of the same year, Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada on a US warrant. The arrests created a long-running dispute with China that finally ended last September with Meng's release.

After Meng's arrest, two Canadians were arrested by Beijing and charged with espionage. The two men were released on the same day as Meng.

Now diplomatic tensions between China and Canada have eased a bit. On Wednesday, May 18, China removed a three-year restriction on imports of canola seed from Canada, reversing what it saw as a retaliatory move for Meng's arrest.

Thursday's decision came after telecoms in Canada had already chosen to use other companies' 5G hardware. ZTE did not immediately respond to a request for comment, on the report.

Alykhan Velshi, vice president of corporate affairs for Huawei in Canada, said in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp that the company is still waiting to hear "what kind of national security threat they think Huawei poses".

As Reuters reported, Velshi said Huawei still has 1.500 employees in Canada, most of whom are research and development divisions, and sell products such as mobile phones, and will continue to do so.

In 2020, Bell Canada and rival Telus Corp, the two largest wireless service providers, have teamed up with Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Oyj to build 5G networks for telecommunications. They “dumped” Huawei for this project despite using Huawei's 4G equipment.