India has chosen not to heed the United States' call to ban Chinese companies from participating in its 5G development. Government officials confirmed this week that it will not be excluding Chinese firms such as Huawei Technologies from its 5G trials.
The announcement officially gives Huawei a huge opportunity in helping India develop its 5G network, effectively allowing it to tap into the world's second-largest internet market. This a big deal for the embattled Chinese firm as it is a welcomed reprieve from its current predicament spurring from its continued battle against the United States' global campaign against its products and services.
India's minister of technology and communications, Ravi Shankar Prasad, mentioned at an event in New Delhi that all players are welcome to test out their systems. 5G trials are expected to begin immediately.
The United States continues to push its allegations against Huawei as being nothing more than a tool used by the Chinese government to spy on other countries. Huawei has repeatedly denied these accusations and the US has yet to show any solid evidence. Despite this, the Trump administration continued to call on its allies to ban Huawei's products and services on the basis of protecting national security.
Huawei India CEO Jay Chen thanked the Indian government for its decision and its continued faith in the company despite the accusations. Chen added that Huawei will strive to provide its technological innovations and high-quality products to rejuvenate India's telecom industry in the coming years.
India is currently the second-largest internet market, right behind China. The country has over 600 million internet users and that number is expected to grow in the coming years, thanks to its rapidly growing infrastructure.
Unlike other US allies, India has been holding out on block Huawei and other Chinese companies from its 5G development. However, the country had previously not made any official statements regarding its stance on the matter until now.
Huawei, on the other hand, had stated that it has not faced any barriers in its attempt to enter the Indian market. The Chinese firm even previously stated that it had already been approached by one of the country's largest telecom executives for a possible partnership.
Despite the US continued campaign against its business, Huawei still saw its global sales grow in 2019. Over the past 12 months, Huawei revealed that it was able to secure more than 50 contracts to set up 5G wireless networks throughout various countries around the world.
