OTTAWA – The U.S. Justice Department’s announcement Monday that 23 criminal charges have been laid against Huawei Technologies, its affiliates and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou – who is currently facing extradition from Canada to the U.S. – will likely make it more difficult for China’s telecommunications titan to play any significant role in developing Canada’s 5G wireless networks.
But federal Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, who oversees the spectrum portion of the 5G file, is awaiting the results of a national security review of potential partners in Canada’s 5G network led by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale before commenting on Huawei’s future in Canada.
“We will make a decision in our national interest; that benefits Canadians; that takes into account what our allies are doing and the technological changes that are occurring; and national security,” Bains said in an interview.
Among the Five Eyes intelligence network, the United States, Australia and New Zealand have banned Huawei from their 5G networks, while the United Kingdom has imposed strict security requirements on the Chinese telco’s equipment and software.
“We’re looking at the decisions they’ve made and their experiences,” Bains told Cartt.ca. “From our perspective, we want to see more competition, more affordability for Canadians. We see the benefit of 5G for the Internet of things and the innovative economy going forward.”
At last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Bains announced that the federal government would invest up to $40 million in Nokia Canada’s five-year, $214.6-million research project on data-routing, optical-network management and cybersecurity associated with 5G technology. The Ontario government has also contributed $12.4 million toward Nokia’s 5G initiative.
Last year, Ottawa allocated $66.7 million to support the research and development of the first Canadian pre-commercial 5G corridor targeted to small and medium-sized businesses, and which involves the Quebec and Ontario governments (that also contributed $66.7 million each), and such tech companies as Ericsson and Ciena, and is called ENCQOR (Evolution of Networked Services through a Corridor in Québec and Ontario for Research and Innovation).
The recent federal investment in Nokia is to help the Finnish-headquartered global 5G supplier “establish a stronger presence in Canada,” said Bains.
"National security will not be compromised.” – Minister Ralph Goodale
“We want to see IP [intellectual property] generated in Canada and benefit Canadians, particularly in 5G because the impact is so significant in terms of connected or autonomous vehicles, or smart cities. It’s really important that we play a leadership role on the R&D side.”
Nokia’s 5G project will also involve a team from Murray Hill, New Jersey-based Nokia Bell Labs that will establish its first presence in Canada.
“This puts Canada on the forefront for critical research on 5G,” according to Andy Thompson, vice-president of transformation at Nokia in Ottawa.
He said that Nokia will also recruit masters and PhD students from across Canada through Mitacs (www.mitacs.ca) to work with Bell Labs researchers on such 5G features as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“It’s a super-slick way to create an ecosystem of research,” said Thompson. He added that Nokia is creating a centre of excellence for diversity in technology to attract more women to pursue careers in the industry – an initiative that complements the company’s summer internship program for high-school students.
As for the five-year rollout of 5G across Canada, the federal government will hold an auction of spectrum licenses in the 600 megahertz band in March and another one for 3,500 MHz expected next year, according to Bains.
However, no date has been set as to whether Huawei will be given a green light to participate in Canada’s 5G network following the national security review. When asked about the timeline, Goodale told reporters on Parliament Hill on Tuesday that it would be “beyond weeks” before a decision is made.
“We don’t take this issue lightly in any way, shape or form,” he said. “This is a serious decision and we will make it in a serious and conscientious way so that Canadians are properly benefited by the result and properly protected. National security will not be compromised.”
file photo
