Distancing itself from embattled former partner, Huawei, Canada has stepped away from the Chinese telecom and is seeking new relationships with Ericsson and Nokia, reports Yahoo Finance. Canadian telecom giant, Bell Canada, and rival Telus Corp, have both announced plans to build their 5G networks with Sweden’s Ericsson, and Finland’s Nokia networks. Telefonica Deutschland also announced its decision to move forward with Ericsson.
Given its legal troubles and security concerns, this lack of faith mandate is a blow for Huawei. Lawrence Surtees, the lead research analyst on communications at IDC Canada described the business situation for Huawei as “a real monkey wrench into the spanner.” Other countries have gone so far as to ban all components from Huawei, and this is a clear sign that Canada has chosen to follow suit.
Bell Canada has said it will now employ multiple equipment suppliers. Huawei says it supports Bell’s decision and does still provide some tech support for Bell. It also continues to work with some smaller telecoms. Companies that were waiting for an official government stance on doing business with Huawei should now be able to move forward with more certainty.
Weighing in with his thought, Mark Goldberg, a telecom industry consultant, said, “There is now equipment certainty and the use of multiple suppliers is an excellent strategy to help stimulate innovation and discipline pricing.”
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