Bell standing by Huawei amidst security concerns

BCE Inc. head George Cope said Wednesday that his company is aware of concerns involving Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., though he didn’t indicate Bell has any plans to alter its use of technology from the Chinese telecom equipment maker. Cope was addressing a question from BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Casey at the bank’s annual telecom conference about whether Bell’s use of the Shenzhen-based company’s technology means there’s risk it would need to switch out equipment and potentially incur costs in the future, in light of security concerns about the foreign giant. “We’ve had that organization as a supplier for years,” Cope said. “We’ve had complete support of that technology rollout in the country based on what’s happened here from the government’s perspective.” The federal government recently acknowledged that it has been running tests on Huawei’s equipment through its security review system, in place since 2013. “We are very cognizant of some of the issues, and those are managed appropriately,” Cope added. “That’s one of the many suppliers we like to deal with.” Bell and Huawei earlier this year laid the foundation for new high-capacity fixed wireless infrastructure that uses 5G technology in smaller and underserved communities. It has also partnered with Telus Corp. on 5G tests. Huawei has effectively entrenched itself in the country through academic and business partnerships. Yet concerns have emerged from a former director of Canada’s spy agency -- the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) -- and parliamentarians, citing issues raised by Canada’s allies. The Huawei issue was first brought to high prominence earlier this year when a cadre of intelligence officials in the United States warned a U.S. intelligence committee about the risks of using telecom equipment made by Chinese companies. In mid-August, U.S. president Donald Trump signed into law a budget bill that effectively banned its equipment and services. Later that month, the Australian government followed suit and blocked Huawei and ZTE Corp., another Chinese equipment maker, from participating in their 5G networks. Huawei has been operating in that country for nearly 15 years, its Australia division said in an August statement on social media.

Bell standing by Huawei amidst security concerns

Brief | September 12, 2018

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Bell standing by Huawei amidst security concerns

Brief | September 12, 2018

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