OTTAWA- The Canadian government released a statement recently pledging to ban Chinese telecom-producers Huawei and ZTE from utilizing the nation’s 5g networks.
The industry minister, Francois-Phillipe Champagne, released the statement on Thursday, stating that it will “protect the safety and security of Canadians”.
Huawei Canada however said it was disappointed by the move, citing it as politically provoked.
“This is an unfortunate political decision that has nothing to do with cyber security or any of the technologies in question,” the company subdivision stated following the report.
This makes Canada the fifth nation to place limits on the telecommunicators, alongside the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand. The five nations make up an intelligence-sharing arrangement called the “Five Eyes,” which formed during the Cold War.
Champagne told reporters in Ottawa that the government’s decision came following “a full review by our security agencies and consultation with our closest allies”.
“Let me be very clear: We will always protect the safety and security of Canadians and will take any actions necessary to safeguard our telecommunication infrastructure. In a 5G world, at a time where we rely more and more in our daily lives [on] our network, this is the right decision.”
Beijing sees this new political move as a form of political manipulation however, accusing Canada of working with America to suppress Chinese businesses.
Huawei Canada added that their equipment has been closely looked into in the past and that there had been “zero security incidents caused by Huawei equipment”.
“Banning Huawei’s equipment and services will lead to significant economic loss in Canada and drive up the cost of communications for Canadian consumers,” the subdivision said. “Unfortunately, this decision is beyond our control as a business. However, we will do everything in our capacity to protect the legitimate rights and interests of our customers, partners, and ourselves.”
ZTE has rejected the premise of the announcement however, unlike their counterpart, stating that it was “highly speculative”.
“We have always abided by international standards and best practices, opening up our cyber security labs to enable regulators and stakeholders to verify the security of ZTE products,” firm spokespeople stated.
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