New Zealand and Italy cloud US push to ban Huawei from 5G networks
- Jacinda Ardern says Chinese telecom firm ‘not out the running’ while top Italian politician says the company is just another equipment supplier
Uncertainty is clouding a US effort to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from 5G networks around the world, with New Zealand saying it has not made a final decision on the issue and a senior Italian politician insisting the company is not a concern.
The comments from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Italian undersecretary for economic development Michele Geraci come as Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with the Chinese government and allegations of enabling state espionage.
The United States has called on its allies not to use its technology but on Monday the Financial Times reported quoted the British National Cyber Security Centre as saying those risks were manageable and it was possible to mitigate the ones posed to 5G networks.
In New Zealand, authorities stopped local mobile company Spark from using Huawei’s equipment in November, citing concerns from the Government Communications Security Bureau, the country’s spy agency.
But on Tuesday, Ardern told TV news service Newshub that Huawei had not been banned and was never out of the running from the country’s 5G network.
