Two of the three big telecommunications firms in Canada announced on Tuesday that they chose not to use Chinese tech group Huawei for their cutting-edge 5G wireless infrastructure.
Bell Canada disclosed that Sweden-headquartered telco Ericsson would be its main supplier and Telus Corp. later revealed that it had also picked Nokia and Ericsson. Rogers Communications Inc already has a history of business with Ericsson.
Canada and its security divisions have been researching whether to use Huawei's equipment as telco firms get ready to launch fifth generation technology. 5G is created to enable comprehensive network expansion to support health equipment, autonomous vehicles and other innovations.
The move by Telus's to choose Ericsson and Nokia was made public just moments after Bell disclosed it had entered into a deal with Ericsson.
Telus chief financial officer Doug French had told the Financial Post last February that his group was still considering launching Huawei's 5G equipment by end of the year, even in the midst of ongoing issues on so-called espionage.
Huawei's involvement with the development of Canada's 5G architecture has turned out to be a very sensitive matter between Washington and Ottawa. The US government has warned Canada, the United Kingdom and other key partners that it will cut intelligence sharing with nations that use Huawei's 5G network.
Huawei has become a household name of sorts in Canada in the past few years after Meng Wangzhou, its vice president, was apprehended at the Vancouver airport in 2018 at the request of US officials.
Beijing has repeatedly called on the Canadian government to release Wanzhou, who is in the midst of an extradition process to the US. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cited his country's independent judicial framework, stressing unlike in China, he has no authority to impinge on the ongoing case with political intervention.
Last week, Wanzhou lost a ruling in the lawsuit surrounding the subject of dual crime - that is, whether the accusations she is charged with in the US constitute crimes in Canada.
Meanwhile, Canadian regulators are presently evaluating whether to allow Huawei to join the country's networks. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair in a statement to CBC News stated that the government is taking all factors into consideration, including those from their partners and its own security units.
"We'll ensure that our networks are secure and will take the appropriate decisions in due course," Blair stressed, as reported by Pete Evans of CBC News.
US regulators have called on their Canadian counterparts to bar Huawei from their next-generation wireless technology as they allege the company is duty-bound to the Chinese government.
