New Zealand bans Huawei

New Zealand's top intelligence agency has banned controversial Chinese vendor Huawei from supplying equipment for the country's first 5G mobile network.

Spark Telecom, formerly New Zealand Telecom, said in a statement to the stock exchange on Wednesday that New Zealand's Government Security Bureau had made the decision to block Huawei from participating in its 5G network based on national security concerns.

British intelligence says Huawei's global credibility would be destroyed if it was discovered as having spied.

"The Director-General has informed Spark today that he considers Spark's proposal to use Huawei 5G equipment in Spark's planned 5G RAN [radio access network] would, if implemented, raise significant national security risks," it said in a statement.

[T]his means Spark cannot implement or give effect to its proposal to use Huawei RAN equipment in its planned 5G network."

"Spark has not yet had an opportunity to review the detailed reasoning behind the Director-General's decision. Following our review, Spark will consider what further steps, if any, it will take."

The company said it still plans to launch a 5G network by mid-2020.

Huawei in a statement said it was "looking into the situation."

"As the GCSB has noted, this is an ongoing process. We will actively address any concerns and work together to find a way forward," it said.

"As a leading global supplier of telecoms equipment, we remain committed to developing trusted and secure solutions for our customers. Huawei's 5G equipment is already being deployed by major carriers around the world, with whom we have signed more than 20 commercial 5G contracts."

The decision brings New Zealand into line with Australia, which blocked Huawei from being a supplier to 5G mobile networks earlier this year, and previously banned the vendor from being involved in the National Broadband Network.

Those bans elicited a furious response from Beijing, reflecting ongoing diplomatic tensions between China and Australia.

The company has also faced stiff resistance in the US, with the Trump administration legislating to ban it from the American market.

New Zealand is a member of the ‘Five Eyes' intelligence sharing arrangement with Australia, the UK, Canada and the US.

5G, the next generation of mobile technology, is expected to be up to 10 times as fast as its predecessor 4G, and be used to connect myriad devices beyond phones to the internet, in the so-called internet of things.

Huawei was a major supplier for existing mobile networks built by Optus and Vodafone in Australia.