BREAKING: Canada to ban Huawei from country’s 5G network: sources

The decision is expected to be announced later today by Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino

Article content

OTTAWA – The Canadian government will ban equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G network, according to two government sources.

Article content

The decision is expected to be announced by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on Thursday afternoon, according to the sources who were granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak of the issue publicly.

With the move, Canada falls in line with its allies in the Five Eyes intelligence network — the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. — who have all already banned or restricted Huawei equipment.

The Liberals have been promising a decision on a Huawei ban for three years. Over that time, Canada’s large telecoms have already been moving on building 5G networks with other vendors.

The details of the ban will determine how the ban will affect Canada’s telecom companies.  Both Bell and Telus have installed Huawei equipment to serve their existing 4G and earlier-generation networks, which would have to be removed if the ban is retroactive. Both companies have approached the government about the possibility of being compensated by taxpayers in that case.

A major fear is that having Huawei equipment in Canada’s next-generation wireless networks is a security risk, especially considering China’s laws that state companies must cooperate with its intelligence services.

More to come

The decision is expected to be announced later today by Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino

Article content

OTTAWA – The Canadian government will ban equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G network, according to two government sources.

Article content

The decision is expected to be announced by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on Thursday afternoon, according to the sources who were granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak of the issue publicly.

With the move, Canada falls in line with its allies in the Five Eyes intelligence network — the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. — who have all already banned or restricted Huawei equipment.

The Liberals have been promising a decision on a Huawei ban for three years. Over that time, Canada’s large telecoms have already been moving on building 5G networks with other vendors.

The details of the ban will determine how the ban will affect Canada’s telecom companies.  Both Bell and Telus have installed Huawei equipment to serve their existing 4G and earlier-generation networks, which would have to be removed if the ban is retroactive. Both companies have approached the government about the possibility of being compensated by taxpayers in that case.

A major fear is that having Huawei equipment in Canada’s next-generation wireless networks is a security risk, especially considering China’s laws that state companies must cooperate with its intelligence services.

More to come