Canada has banned Chinese tech corporations Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network

In a bombshell announcement, Canadian government officials revealed that Huawei and ZTE will be banned from its 5G network.

This decision stems from concerns about national security and is aimed at “securing Canada’s telecommunications system.”

As the transition to faster 5G technology grows, so does room for data breaches. To minimize the risk of this affecting millions of Canadians, new measures will be put into place.

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“The Government of Canada has serious concerns about suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE who could be compelled to comply with extrajudicial directions from foreign governments in ways that would conflict with Canadian laws or would be detrimental to Canadian interests,” a statement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada reads.

Canada had already excluded Huawei and ZTE in sensitive areas of Canadian 3G/4G and LTE networks. Now, a plan of actions has been release, with several overall measures expected to be taken in the coming years.

Here are the changes you can anticipate:

• The use of new 5G equipment and managed services from Huawei and ZTE will be prohibited and existing 5G equipment and managed services must be removed or terminated by June 28, 2024.
• Any use of new 4G equipment and managed services from Huawei and ZTE will be prohibited and any existing 4G equipment and managed services must be removed or terminated by December 31, 2027.
•  The Government expects that telecommunications service providers will cease procurement of new 4G or 5G equipment and associated services by September 1, 2022.
• The government further intends to impose restrictions on Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) equipment used in fibre-optic networks.
• During these transition periods, telecommunications service providers that use this equipment and managed services would be required to comply with any assurance requirements prescribed by the government, building from the Communications Security Establishment’s Security Review Program.
• As outlined below, these actions will be subject to consultation.

The government had already excluded the two Chinese brands in “sensitive areas” of  the country’s 3G, 4G, and LTE networks.