Province exploring its options when it comes to 5G networks as Bell, Telus drop Huawei

On Tuesday telecomnunication giants Bell and Telus both announced they would not be using Huawei technology as they move forward with their 5G projects.

On Wednesday morning, the Minister responsible for SaskTel, Don Morgan, told Gormley that Saskatchewan’s existing cell phone network is almost exclusively with Huawei, but moving forward towards 5G technology, many things will need to be considered.

Morgan said our province once had a very good relationship with China but that has changed.

“The trading relationship has become increasingly difficult. They’re putting up major roadblocks to the purchase of our products and now there are enormous concerns over security with 5G.” said Morgan.

The federal government is carrying out a security review of 5G networks which is expected in the next few months. Several countries have stopped using Huawei technology because of its close relationship with the Chinese government.

“Right now we have no Huawei 5G equipment in any switching networks or anything to do with 5G and going forward we have got other options than just Huawei,” said Morgan.

Morgan says one thing that has to be considered is how compatible other networks would be with existing equipment.

“As a Saskatchewan customer, you go travelling across the nation and you go roaming on Bell and Telus’ networks as their customers do here. So, it’s important that the equipment is compatible and works together,” said Morgan. “Now that they’ve indicated they’re switching and looking at other options, we’re at liberty to do the same.”

Morgan says while SaskTel makes very good business and technical decisions, it is up to the provincial cabinet to make trade and political decisions.

“Now that we have other options, we’ll be taking it to cabinet as soon as we get some finalization from SaskTel and have some discussions with Bell and Telus.”

Morgan says they have also been waiting to hear what the federal government has to say on the Huawei matter.

“We’ve made calls over the last year plus to the federal government saying, ‘make a decision.’ Give us some advice, give us some clear direction so we know what our options are so we can make business decisions, make technical decisions, trade decisions and we’ve had nothing whatsoever from them.”

Morgan says with Bell and Telus moving on their own away from Huawei, Saskatchewan will look strongly at other options as well, but he says no final decision has been made yet.

Morgan says there are many considerations that need to be weighed, including cost, public opinion and interoperability.