For the NBN, Australia Sends Huawei Packing

It isn’t just the USA that is acting on security worries about Huawei. The Australian government today barred the Chinese equipment maker from its $37B NBN project, according to reports.  I honestly didn’t think the NBN would get this far back when it was announced, but it has and its importance to the next decade of bandwidth in Australia can’t be understated.

The move to bar Huawei from supplying the buildout, which Prime Minister Julia Gillard called ‘prudent’, is a response to concerns about potential cyber attacks from its giant neighbor to the north.  Whether there is a technical basis for such worries has largely been beside the point, as political considerations have played a larger role.  But them’s the breaks, as they say.

Huawei is of course not too happy with the decision, but they can’t be too surprised it came out this way.  Where such concerns have been raised, the company’s efforts to establish its independence from the Chinese military and other potential influences have largely fallen on deaf ears.

Huawei is already a big part of the market in Australia, serving the likes of Vodafone and SingTel Optus down under.  But this will give its international competition a leg up in the near term marketshare race.

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Categories: Government Regulations · Telecom Equipment