Canada has said it will ban two of China’s biggest telecom equipment makers from working on its 5G mobile-phone networks.
The Canadian Industry Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne disclosed the restriction against Huawei and ZTE on Thursday. He said the move will improve Canada’s mobile internet services and “protect the safety and security of Canadians.”
“This is about providing a framework to protect our 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,” Mr Champagne said while speaking to reporters in the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
Investors King has it that this decision by Canada has been widely expected, as its allies had already barred Huawei and ZTE from their own high-speed networks.
This means that telecoms firms in the country will no longer be allowed to use equipment made by Huawei and ZTE.
“Companies that have already installed the equipment made by the Chinese manufacturers must now remove it,” Mr. Champagne added.
Four nations had already placed the same restriction on the companies. They include the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Canada with these other five countries make up an intelligence-sharing arrangement named ‘Five Eyes’ which evolved during the Cold War as a tool for monitoring the Soviet Union and sharing classified information
The Fifth Generation network is the next upgrade to mobile internet networks, offering much faster data download and upload speeds.
It also allows more devices to simultaneously access the internet. It comes as data usage is soaring, as the popularity of video and music streaming grows. This is pushing governments and mobile phone network operators to improve their telecommunications infrastructures.
Canada first announced a review of Huawei equipment in September 2018. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa, Huawei and ZTE did not immediately respond at the time of publication.