India extends belated invite to Huawei for 5G trials – Asia Times
What happened: Huawei Technologies said it has been invited by the Indian government to conduct 5G trials in the country, which will start early next year. The Indian government initially did not invite Huawei to participate in the 5G trials but relented after protests from the company. Major telecom equipment suppliers Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung will also be taking part, but ZTE, Huawei’s rival in China, is apparently excluded.
Why it’s important: Huawei has been shut out from participating in 5G network rollout in a number of international markets including the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The boycott against Huawei was prompted by the fear that the Chinese firm’s alleged close relations with Beijing would make its network equipment vulnerable to surveillance and interference. Earlier this week, it was reported that spy chiefs from the “Five Eyes”—an intelligence alliance made up of Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand—agreed in a meeting in July that they needed to contain Huawei’s global reach. India aims to roll out 5G networks across the country by 2020.