The cowardly Trudeau government may have been spared having to make a clear rejection of Huawei, as companies have basically done it for them.
Earlier today, Bell announced that they would use Swedish company Ericsson for their 5G networks.
Now, hours after that announcement, Telus has announced that they will use Ericsson and Finnish company Nokia for their networks.
Here’s part of what they said in a statement:
“TELUS today announced it has selected Ericsson and Nokia to support building its 5G network, with the goal to revolutionize wireless connectivity for customers.
“TELUS has a successful track record of building globally leading networks with amazing speeds, robust quality and extensive coverage that are consistently recognized as the best in the world,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, TELUS. “Our team is committed to rolling out superior network technology from urban to rural communities, fueling our economy and driving innovation as we power Canadians into the 5G era through an unparalleled network experience. Our 5G deployment will support economic growth and diversity that will be essential for the virtualization of health, education, teleworking, and stimulating the economic growth and recovery given the impact of COVID-19”.”
Notably, Telus had previously expressed a desire to use Huawei, even saying they could take huge losses if they had to switch.
Of course, they are likely reading the polls that show a huge majority of Canadians oppose Huawei, and are worried about losing customers if they didn’t listen. Also, if they let Huawei build their network, and then it was banned halfway through, they would be totally screwed, so better to deal with the uncertainty now and pick companies headquartered in democratic nations in Europe.
As noted by Terry Glavin, having Canada’s major telecom companies reject Huawei likely spares the Liberals from having to do the right thing:
“Bell & Rogers have said no 5G for #Huawei. Telus has just announced it’s bailing from Huawei too (no explanation for the 180-degree turn, no mention of the $500k-$1b losses Telus had mooted). The Trudeau cabinet is spared the job of doing the right thing.”
https://twitter.com/TerryGlavin/status/1267901940102336514
“Could be they got the word that Ottawa wasn’t going to say anything publicly for fear of exciting Beijing, but that there was no way the Trudeau government could get away with it, what with national security, hostage diplomacy & all. Gets Ottawa off the hook.”
Could be they got the word that Ottawa wasn't going to say anything publicly for fear of exciting Beijing, but that there was no way the Trudeau government could get away with it, what with national security, hostage diplomacy & all. Gets Ottawa off the hook. https://t.co/gpBkqtelf9
— Terry Glavin 格立文 (@TerryGlavin) June 2, 2020
This is good news for Canada. By rejecting Huawei, these companies have done what the Trudeau government could not, and took a stand for Canada’s values and the best interests of the Canadian People.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
