Toronto : Canada said it plans to ban the use of China`s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp 5G gear to protect national security, joining the rest of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network. We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G networks, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa. Providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it under the plans we`re announcing.
Champagne added that companies will be required to remove their 5G gear by June 2024, and would not be reimbursed. Companies using their 4G equipment must be removed by the end of 2027. The decision – widely expected – had been delayed amid diplomatic tensions with China. The rest of the Five Eyes network – which consists of Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand – has already banned the equipment.
In September 2018, Canada first announced it would review the possible threats to national security in adopting Huawei equipment. Then in December of the same year, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a U.S. warrant, creating a long-running dispute with China that finally ended last September with Meng`s release.