Canada excludes Huawei and ZTE from 5G rollout

Canada excludes Huawei from the 5G rollout over security concerns. According to Bloomberg, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the state-backed Chinese telecommunications company poses a threat to national security. Chinese company ZTE will also reportedly be excluded. Companies that have already installed equipment from Huawei or ZTE will have to remove it by June 2024 for the 5G standard and by the end of 2027 for 4G. No refunds will be issued for replacing these devices. Several Canadian providers, such as Bell Canada and Telus, have relied on Chinese equipment suppliers to roll out the 4G network.