China telecom giants barred from providing 5G in Australia

HUAWEI and ZTE, China’s leading telecommunications companies, have been banned from providing 5G equipment to Australia over national security concerns.

The firms are under suspicion for enabling Chinese interference and hacking of networks in foreign territories. Chinese law requires businesses to co-operate with intelligence officials.

Critics say this could place Huawei and ZTE equipment at risk of being used as tools for spying. However, Beijing has dismissed the concerns as an “excuse” to prevent Chinese firms from winning lucrative contracts abroad.

Australia’s ban follows similar concerns made about the firms in the UK. British telecoms operators were warned not to use ZTE equipment earlier this year. A separate government report into Huawei’s broadband and mobile infrastructure in July concluded that it had “only limited assurance” that the kit poses no threat to national security.

Following the concerns, Australian ministers said yesterday that the government would ban a number of equipment vendors from helping to build its 5G technology.

The next generation mobile internet technology promises to deliver faster download speeds, better connections and wider coverage. China and the US are racing against each other to become world leaders in the technology.

“The government considers that the involvement of vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law may risk failure by the carrier to adequately protect a 5G network from unauthorised access or interference,” Australia’s Department of Communications said.