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Huawei loses out as Singapore telecom operators choose 5G providers
- Singapore’s biggest telecom operators Singtel and StarHub have chosen Ericsson and Nokia as their main 5G network provider
- Huawei, which is a focal point in US/China tensions, still has a foothold in the Singapore market through TPG Telecom’s smaller, local network system
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Singapore’s communication minister on Thursday said the government never excluded any company from being vendors for the nationwide roll-out of high-speed 5G technology, and is satisfied with the outcome of its telecom operators’ selection.
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Singapore Telecommunications chose Ericsson while a group that includes StarHub opted for Nokia after the city state gave final approval for the roll-out of nationwide 5G coverage on Wednesday, leaving China’s Huawei Technologies with less significant contracts in the city state.
Huawei, which has been a point of contention in the tensions between the US and China, still has a foothold in the market as a provider for TPG Telecom’s smaller, local network system.
“We never explicitly excluded any vendor,” and Singapore has very clear security, resilience and performance requirements, Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said. “You have a diversity of vendors involved in different aspects of the 5G system and that is in fact a positive outcome from our perspective.”
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The final awards were issued to Singtel and a group formed by StarHub and M1 after they completed regulatory processes, including selection of preferred frequency spectrum lots and vendor partners, the Infocomm Media Development Authority said on Wednesday. Provisional awards were made in April.
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