Canada joins Five Eyes allies in banning Huawei and ZTE 5G telecom gear

Canada is banning 4G and 5G telecom equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, joining its "Five Eyes" allies in doing so. The decision follows a three-year review that was delayed by political tensions with China after Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a US warrant. 

"Our government will always protect the safety and security of Canadians and will take any actions necessary to safeguard our critical telecommunications infrastructure," said Canada's innovation minister, François-Philippe Champagne, in a press release.

"We’re disappointed but not surprised. We’re surprised it took the government so long to make a decision," Huawei spokesperson Alykhan Velshi told The Guardian. "We see this as a political decision, one born of political pressure primarily from the United States."

Two of Canada's largest wireless providers, Bell and Telus, switched to Ericsson and Nokia equipment in 2020 to build their next-generation 5G networks. However, both operators have some Huawei 5G equipment in place as part of so-called non-standalone 5G networks integrated with previous 4G networks. Those 4G networks were also built using Huawei equipment. Huawei has sold over $700 million in equipment to Canadian operators since 2018, mostly to Bell and Telus. 

Both operators reportedly approached the federal government in the past to ask about compensation from taxpayers for potential removal Huawei or ZTE gear. The CEO of a smaller Northern operator, Iristel, previously said that a requirement to remove existing equipment would be "catastrophic." 

However, Champagne said that operators will be required to remove any Huawei or ZTE gear at their own expense. Existing 5G equipment must be removed or terminated by June 28, 2024 and any 4G equipment by December 31, 2027, according to the policy statement.

Canada's Five Eyes intelligence allies, the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, have already banned Huawei and ZTE wireless equipment. Canada has faced growing pressure to do the same, over fears it could compromise the security of all five nations, given that China's laws require state companies to cooperate with intelligence services. 

FCC revokes China Telecom’s ability to offer services in the US

The Federal Communications Commission has revoked the ability of China Telecom Americas to operate in the US. Citing national security concerns, the agency voted unanimously in favor of a proposal it had been considering since the end of 2020. With today’s order, the company, a subsidiary of China’s largest state-owned carrier, has 60 days to discontinue telecom services in the US.

Following a proceeding that involved input from the Justice Department, the FCC found that China Telecom is likely to comply with requests from the Chinese government, affording the country the opportunity to access, store, disrupt and misroute US communications. “Promoting national security is an integral part of the Commission’s responsibility to advance the public interest, and today’s action carries out that mission to safeguard the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure from potential security threats,” the FCC said.

Over the last year, the FCC has taken similar actions against other Chinese telecoms and equipment manufacturers. Most notably, it labeled both Huawei and ZTE as national security threats and ordered US carriers to replace any networking equipment from the two companies.

We've reached out to China Telecom Americas for comment.

Dish will pay AT&T $5 billion to serve its mobile customers

AT&T is set to provide voice, data and messaging services to Dish's Boost Mobile, Ting and Republic Wireless customers for the next 10 years. Dish plans to pay AT&T at least $5 billion as part of the deal, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

To serve customers of both companies, AT&T may be able to use parts of the wireless spectrum to which Dish holds licences, as The Wall Street Journal notes. Before now, T-Mobile provided services to the nearly 9 million customers of Dish’s mobile brands.

The deal might draw the attention of regulators, who enabled Dish to join the mobile market when it approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The conditions of the complex deal included T-Mobile divesting Boost. The plan was for Dish to rent services from T-Mobile for seven years while it built its own mobile network. 

Dish will pay AT&T $5 billion to serve its mobile customers

AT&T is set to provide voice, data and messaging services to Dish's Boost Mobile, Ting and Republic Wireless customers for the next 10 years. Dish plans to pay AT&T at least $5 billion as part of the deal, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

To serve customers of both companies, AT&T may be able to use parts of the wireless spectrum to which Dish holds licences, as The Wall Street Journal notes. Before now, T-Mobile provided services to the nearly 9 million customers of Dish’s mobile brands.

The deal might draw the attention of regulators, who enabled Dish to join the mobile market when it approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The conditions of the complex deal included T-Mobile divesting Boost. The plan was for Dish to rent services from T-Mobile for seven years while it built its own mobile network.