According to an article published in The Globe and Mail, Bell Canada and Telus are warning Canadian government representatives that banning Huawei from their 5G wireless network would lead to higher costs and delays.  The US government has been pressuring Canada to implement such a ban for security reasons.

A similar ban on Huawei from the 5G networks in Australia and New Zealand has been implemented.  The UK is currently in the process of coming up with a policy.  Canada is currently conducting a cyber-security review of Huawei to see come up with a policy on the issue.

Huawei had offered 30 to 50% discount in prices in the past compared to European telecom equipment manufacturers Ericsson and Nokia.  But the price differential seems to have been narrowing lately.  None the less, a 5G project that is economical with Huawei equipment may no longer be with Ericsson or Nokia.

Part of the challenge that Bell and Telus face is their investment in a shared 3G and LTE wireless network.  Moving to a different 5G vendor would diminish the value of their existing investment.


The Canadian government faces another complexity in the Huawei banning proposal: the fact that Canada has detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of the US for an extradition request.  In retaliation, China has detained Canadian citizens in China.  A Huawei ban in Canada would appear politically motivated.

There appears no easy route for Bell and Telus to follow concerning Huawei.  They appear to be lobbying and waiting that Huawei will not be banned from their 5G infrastructure.



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