SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia is preparing to ban Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from supplying equipment for its planned 5G broadband network after its intelligence agencies raised concerns that Beijing could force the Chinese telco to hand over sensitive data, two sources said.
Western intelligence agencies have for years raised concerns about Huawei’s ties to the Chinese government and the possibility that its equipment could be used for espionage. But there has never been any public evidence to support those suspicions.
Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications network gear and the No. 3 smartphone supplier, has promised that Canberra will have complete oversight of 5G network equipment, which could include base stations, towers and radio transmission equipment.
That sort of oversight model has been accepted by other countries – notably the UK, where a special laboratory staffed with government intelligence officials reviews all Huawei products.
