Telus says Huawei ban hurts 5G plan

Telus Corp. acknowledged Thursday that the deployment of its fifth-generation wireless network could be delayed and more expensive if Ottawa chooses to ban equipment from Huawei Technologies Inc.

The Vancouver-based company — which has used Huawei radio equipment in non-core portions of its 3G and 4G wireless networks — continues to believe the China-based company doesn’t pose a big risk to national security.

However, Telus said in documents accompanying its fourth-quarter and year-end financial results that it can’t predict the outcome of a review of 5G cyber security being conducted by the federal government.

A ban on Huawei equipment “could have a material, nonrecurring, incremental increase in the cost of Telus’ 5G network deployment and, potentially, the timing of such deployment,” the company said in the filing.

However, Telus chief executive Darren Entwistle took a more reassuring tone in his conference call with analysts.

“We are well prepared for a number of scenarios and developments with respect to the eventual rollout of 5G infrastructure and the acquisition of spectrum that will be critical to deliver 5G,” he said.

A ban on Huawei 5G equipment wouldn’t “impact the timing of when Telus brings 5G to market,” said Entwistle.

Telus said it doesn’t expect fifth-generation wireless networks — which will provide significantly more data capacity than previous generations — to be deployed commercially in Canada before the second half of 2020.

Last week, George Cope, chief executive of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, said a government ban on Huawei equipment would not delay its plans for rolling out fifthgeneration wireless services, but provided few details about the company’s timing.