Canada’s Bell and Telus pick Ericsson and Nokia over Huawei for 5G roll out

Bell Canada and Telus, two of Canada’s largest telecom operators, will procure telecom equipment from Nokia and Ericsson for their 5G networks in Canada over Huawei. This decision is a reversal of the both firms’ previous position and follows recent developments surrounding Huawei’s CFO Meng Wangzhou’s arrest and potential extradition to the US. 

Canada’s Supreme Court recently rejected Meng’s case against extradition. Meng who is also the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has been in custody since her December 2019 arrest at a Vancouver airport. China responded to the arrest by detaining two Canadians and blocking several Canadian agricultural product imports.

Canada’s government is set to decide on the involvement of Huawei’s equipment in national 5G networks. The US and Australia have banned Huawei outright while the UK has a plan to reduce Huawei’s role in 5G networks.