While the world is slowly embracing 5G technology, Huawei despite being the global leader in terms of equipment and technology, has not had the greatest of times. The company, thanks to the US sanctions, has not only lost in the smartphone arena but has also suffered heavily on the 5G infrastructure contracts as well.
Despite all the negativity, the company has kept a positive outlook towards the Indian market which is lagging behind on the 5G schedule. To add to Huawei’s respite, the Chinese company has been awarded a “major contract” from the leading Indian telecom company Airtel.
To recall, both Huawei and ZTE have been ignored by other Indian telecom operators when it comes to deploying new infrastructure. And while the US has raised concerns regarding threat to privacy and espionage, the Indian authorities have not categorically banned the Chinese companies.
According to reports, Airtel has already issued a procurement order to Huawei. The Chinese company is said to be running Airtel’s National Long Distance (NLD) network that carries international traffic and inter-circle traffic and also contributes to managing network capacity.
Huawei which is facing isolation in most countries has lost business in almost all domains off late. It had to sell its budget smartphone brand Honor while there were rumours around the possibility of it looking for buyers for the Mate and P lineup as well.
Even though Huawei has always denied the allegations of snooping and threat to cybersecurity, several countries like the US, UK, Australia, Japan etc. have barred it from participating in any 5G deployment. The Indian government, despite banning a slew of Chinese applications and cancelling contracts with various Chinese companies is yet to announce any such guidelines in the telecom sector.
With that being said, A Security action plan is being formulated that will require a Deputy National Security Advisor (Dy NSA) to clear all the telecom gears, equipment and gadgets, including 5G mobile networks and supply chains. Once this action plan is implemented, it will make it difficult for Chinese vendors like ZTE and Huawei to supply equipment or partner with the telecoms for 5G deployment.
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