Any gov’t ban unlikely to affect Huawei partnership: Iristel

OTTAWA — With the federal government’s decision on whether to ban Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd equipment from 5G networks still looming, the company and Iristel Inc.’s Ice Wireless held a press conference in Ottawa Monday to announce they’re partnering up to connect 70 of some of Canada’s most remote communities. Huawei will sell radio access network (RAN) equipment to Iristel, but just how many of those 70 communities will be connected using Huawei gear versus those of another provider is unclear. “The decision in terms of technology is going to be made on a case-by-case ,” said Iristel vice- president of regulatory and government affairs Jean-Francois Dumoulin in an interview at the announcement. “We’re expanding to 70 communities, that doesn’t mean we’re gonna put 70 Huawei RANs up,” he said. The Iristel partnership with Huawei will seek to establish 4G LTE service in the far north using RAN equipment that is not considered part of the sensitive “core” of the network, and which is already in use by other telecom providers like Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. The announcement that areas of the country with some of the worst connectivity will see improvements comes as Liberal government has been emphasizing its efforts and promises to improve rural and remote broadband access, ahead of the federal election. The government is also currently mulling whether to ban Huawei equipment from Canada’s 5G networks, though according to a recent Reuters report that decision is unlikely to arrive before this fall’s election. Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer has said if he wins that election, he would put in place a ban, though his party has since declined to say what would be covered -- for example, whether it would include removing existing Huawei equipment, like the kind Iristel will be using. Neither Scheer’s office, or Conservative innovation critic Dan Albas, responded to requests for comment Monday. Dumoulin said that while he had not heard from the Canadian security apparatus on this particular arrangement, the company was in regular contact with security officials. Huawei Canada’s vice-president of corporate affaits Alykhan Velshi said in an interview that Huawei, too, has “more than weekly touchpoints between Huawei Canada as well as security agencies.” “The equipment provided under this is fully compliant with the rules” of the Canadian Security Establishment’s Security Review Program, Velshi said. Dumoulin said Ice Wireless does not think a complete ban on Huawei equipment, requiring companies to rip out and replace 3G and 4G gear, is coming from the current federal government. “From what we’ve evaluated as a risk, it’s just seemingly not very likely,” he told The Wire Report in a followup phone interview. As for whether the same would be true for a Conservative government, Dumoulin responded: “I don’t want to play chicken with Andrew Scheer, but I don’t think it would be a realistic policy.” The announcement and press conference came the same morning that The Washington Post reported that Huawei secretly built and has maintained a wireless network in North Korea. Velshi deflected questions from reporters about the revelation, reiterating that Huawei has been in Canada for ten years without issue, and that the company employed 1000 people. Also on hand at the press conference from the north was Sheldon Nimchuk, director of project development and partnerships at Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, an Inuit-owned development corporation based in Iqaluit. Though Qikiqtaaluk has not signed any deals with Huawei yet, Nimchuk has had conversations with Huawei about wireless access in the north during visits from the company’s representatives. “We are open to listening and exploring business relationships of the future,” Nimchuk told reporters afterward. Earlier this year, the government announced a new $1.7 billion Universal Broadband Fund and created a new Ministry for Rural Economic Development to oversee rural connectivity. The Liberals are promising to have 95 per cent of Canadian homes and businesses meet the CRTC’s basic service standard of 50/10 Mbps by 2026 — and then a full 100 per cent at that level by 2030. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Any gov’t ban unlikely to affect Huawei partnership: Iristel

News | July 22, 2019

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Any gov’t ban unlikely to affect Huawei partnership: Iristel

News | July 22, 2019

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