Huawei ban would raise 5G costs, say telcos
2degrees says New Zealanders can expect to pay more for mobile services if Chinese giant Huawei is barred from selling 5G telecommunications equipment to New Zealand.
Spark has warned a ban would also have an impact on its costs.
Huawei, which has global revenues of close to US$100 billion (NZ$153 billion), is already well entrenched as a supplier of mobile technology to both companies.
But Communications Minister Kris Faafoi has acknowledged it is possible New Zealand could take similar action to Australia, which along with the United States has blocked the firm from supplying 5G equipment, citing security concerns.
Huawei New Zealand deputy chief executive Andrew Bowater said New Zealand’s historical connection to the ‘‘Five Eyes’’ security alliance was always going to be a ‘‘unique factor’’.
But Britain was a strong market for Huawei and fellow Five Eyes country Canada ‘‘also looks like it is taking a more mature approach, like the UK and New Zealand’’, he said.
Australian spy chief Mike Burgess said this week that bars on Huawei and fellow Chinese firm ZTE were needed to adequately protect Australia’s ‘‘critical infrastructure’’. That included Australia’s electricity grid and water supplies, he said.
Faafoi said the Government was ‘‘obviously cognisant’’ of Australia’s concerns.
‘‘As we get closer to giving out spectrum and go through the 5G process, if those concerns become bit more clear then we will have some options. And one of those might be similar action to what the Australians have done.’’
5G was a ‘‘pretty crucial piece of infrastructure’’, he said. ‘‘Some companies have already told us that they would like to use [Huawei’s] services.’’
Advice from the security services would always be taken into account, he said.
Spark hopes to begin delivering 5G services in New Zealand from 2020, describing it as a technology evolution ‘‘that in time will become a revolution’’ providing ‘‘higher speeds, more data, and better performance’’.
2degrees spokesman Mat Bollard said Kiwi consumers could expect to feel a direct impact if Huawei did face any ban.
‘‘We have been with Huawei for the better part of 10 years and it is important it remains around as an option because it provides quality network kit and brings price competitiveness to the market. That filters through to the prices people pay when they use their mobile,’’ he said.
2degrees had no security concerns relating to Huawei, he said.
Spark spokesman Andrew Pirie said any ban was a matter for the Government, but Spark certainly hoped it would have ‘‘the opportunity to use a range of technology partners in future, including Huawei’’.
Huawei had been a very competitive provider of services that had helped keep the vendor market honest, Pirie said.
Bowater said Huawei was under more scrutiny ‘‘than anyone else in the market’’.
‘‘New Zealanders can have a lot of confidence that every major piece of work we do in New Zealand goes through independent evaluation in the UK through the cybersecurity evaluation centre there, which we haven’t really acknowledged publicly before.
‘‘Everything we do goes through that evaluation centre, which has oversight from [British spy agency] GCHQ, and they feed that through to [New Zealand spy agency] GCSB.’’
Huawei realised it had to ‘‘go above and beyond because we are headquartered in China’’, he said.
‘‘There has never been evidence of any wrongdoing by Huawei – there has never been a ‘back door’ found. The smoking gun has never been there.’’