Huawei’s message for Australia

Australian smartphone users will get access to high-speed mobile downloads late and will pay more because the Federal Government banned controversial phone company Huawei.

The federal government has banned controversial phone company Huawei. Picture: AP Photo/Andy Wong

AUSTRALIAN smartphone users will get access to high-speed mobile downloads late and will pay more to access the technology because the Federal Government banned controversial phone company Huawei from its 5G networks.

This was the warning issued by Huawei chairman Ken Hu at an international press conference designed to hit back at growing scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar Chinese tech giant this month after Australia became one of the first nations to issue a ban.

Mr Hu also challenged the Australian government to provide “evidence” that Huawei was a cyber security risk and make that evidence public.

The unprecedented company defence came as Australian chairman John Lord told media that Huawei was “an Australian company obeying Australian laws” and denied allegations it would follow any Chinese Government direction to spy on local communications.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison banned any companies “likely subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law” from providing 5G infrastructure in August this year, effectively preventing China-based firms Huawei and ZTE from participating in the next-generation mobile phone network.

“The security of 5G networks will have fundamental implications for all Australians, as well as the security of critical infrastructure, over the next decade,” Mr Morrison said.

5G technology is expected to deliver significantly faster mobile internet download speeds and connect many more devices to the internet, from smart street lighting to appliances in homes.

But Mr Hu said banning Huawei from Australia’s mobile phone infrastructure would only slow down technological progress.

“Without Huawei’s participation, the cost for deploying wireless base stations in Australia would be higher by 15 per cent to 40 per cent,” Mr Hu said.

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“And the cost of building up an entire network would be higher by several billion Australian dollars. Even worse, the time for people to adopt and use 5G technology would be delayed.”

Mr Hu said politicians discussing threats posed by Huawei should be forced to provide “real evidence” of its alleged misdeeds.

“It’s a pity that we haven ’t got any clear message from the Australian government saying what exactly the problem is and what is the evidence for them to come to their conclusion,” he said.

“And we did not have the opportunity to clarify this doubt with the Australian government.”

Australia’s leading telecommunications provider, Telstra, also issued a “stop-sell” on equipment from Chinese firm ZTE in May this year, and has quietly stopped selling Huawei smartphones, even though they recently claimed the rank of the world’s third top smartphone seller.

Mr Lord, who is a former Australian Navy rear admiral, recently claimed a Chinese law forcing companies to modify their equipment to assist in espionage efforts would not stretch to Australia.

“We have independent international legal advice that law doesn’t apply to Huawei outside of China and we have independent legal advice that, even in China, it doesn’t apply to Huawei,” Mr Lord told the Australian Financial Review. “We are an Australian company obeying Australian laws and regulations and we do that in every country we are in.”

Originally published as Huawei’s message for Australia