INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Australia has banned Chinese telecommunications network equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE from supplying operators in their 5G
deployments.The government did not name specific companies in its statement but said that because 5G will make mobile networks so important
to everyday life, and be used to connected industrial and safety systems, that the use of certain suppliers was an unacceptable risk.At the
heart of its concerns is network architecture
Future releases of 5G will allow operators to move certain functions from the core to the edge of the network, a process which will reduce
latency and enable applications like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), connected cars and even robotic surgery.Australia 5GThe
Australian government argues that by moving these functions away from the relative security of the core to the edge increases the
possible by current security controls, the new network, with its increased complexity, would render these current protections ineffective in
involvement of vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law,
However, unlike the US, Huawei has never been frozen out of the market and has been a supplier in the Australian market for 15 years and
counts Vodafone, Optus and TPG among its customer base.Huawei has always denied any allegations of connections with Beijing and says it
abides by the laws of the 170 countries it operates and has made significant 5G investments in the UK, Canada and New Zealand
It has previously offered to build an evaluation and testing centre in Australia to easy any concerns and has an open invitation for
Australian official and security agencies to meet with its RD teams.The company has been contacted for further comment.
