The ongoing trade war between the United States and China that has started affecting other countries too, including India. The Government of India is all set to make a decision regarding the participation of Huawei in the 5G trials in India that are supposed to kick off soon. A number of ministries of the government are getting involved in making this decision, including the Ministry of External Affairs. The final decision is set to be taken with the country’s economic and security interests in mind.
But why so much of concerns about Huawei’s participation in 5G? Let us look at it in a little more detail.
5G: Dominant Huawei Faces Ban
The involvement of the US government is making matters worse for the Chinese telecom giant Huawei. While they banned Huawei on security grounds, they are now putting pressure on other countries so as to limit the functionality of the whole company. And it doesn’t end there. On May 16, 2019, Huawei was added to the entity list by amending the US Export Administration Regulations. Thus, any entity that wants to sell US-origin technologies or software to Huawei will now have to obtain a prior export license to do the same. The companies failing to do that would be liable to penal action under American regulations. The US government has also instructed their companies like Google to not supply any software or hardware to Huawei.
The impact on Huawei, however, is not limited to the US alone. Japan, Australia and a few more countries have served ties with Huawei, of course, due to the pressure from the US.
Huawei, the market leader in telecom with 28% share, has got the lion’s share of 4G implementations worldwide. As the world is ready to move up to the blazing fast 5G network, Huawei is the first choice of almost every country, especially due to the expertise and cost factors.
5G In India: The onset
Huawei has teamed up with Vodafone Idea to run 5G trails in India. The company hopes that India will make an ‘informed and independent decision’ regarding the same. It was only last month that Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad revealed that the country has security issues over letting Huawei participate in the 5G trails.
The security issues of the US have spread major doubts regarding the credibility of the company among a lot of countries. However, it will be the major topic of discussion as the US and China go back to discussions to resolve the trade war deadlock. The outcome of the deadlock may also affect India’s decision regarding Huawei’s participation in the 5G trails.
It is estimated that 5G implementation in India will create opportunities worth $27 billion by 2026.
