5G

Huawei backs own trade compliance system but warns: ‘Road ahead long and hard’

Huawei global rotating chairman Ken Hu has said the company is very confident about its trade compliance system which has been running since 2007.

Speaking to press at Huawei’s new campus in  Dongguan, Hu touched on the recent arrest in Canada of CFO Meng Whanzou. “The company has confidence in the fairness and independence of the judicial systems in Canada and the US,” he said, adding that the firm’s business operations as well as its executives’ travel plans had not impacted.”

Hu was open to a question about building cyber security evaluation centres in places such as the US and Australia, pointing to centres in the UK, Canada and Germany as addressing and mitigating concerns.

“Huawei has subjected itself to the strictest reviews and screening by regulators and customers, while understanding concerns. However, no evidence indicated our equipment posed a security threat. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China had formally clarified that no law requires companies to install mandatory back doors. The company is open to concerns about its openness, transparency and independence as well as dialogue. Any proof or evidence could be shared with telecom operators, if not to Huawei or the public,” he said.

Expanding on Huawei’s 5G leadership drive, Hu said the company had secured 25 commercial contracts, shipping some 10,000 base stations already. “Almost all network customers have indicated they want Huawei, as the market leader with the best equipment for at least the next 12 to 18 months, for faster and more cost-effective upgrades to 5G,” he said.

Hu said some security concerns based on the technology for 5G were very legitimate, but able to be clarified or mitigated through collaboration with operators and governments. “Rare cases have arisen where some countries are hijacking 5G issues for groundless speculation based on ideological or geopolitical considerations,” he said.

“Other security concerns disingenuously raised as excuses to block market competition would slow adoption of new technology, increase costs for network deployment and raise prices for consumers. If Huawei could compete in the US for 5G deployment from 2017 to 2020 some US$20 billion of capital expenditure in wireless infrastructure would be saved, according to some economists,” Hu said. “The road ahead is long and hard, but we will keep moving and reach the destination, because we have already embarked on this journey.”

 

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Categories: 5G, APAC, telco

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