Canada to Ban 5G Equipment From China’s Huawei and ZTE

Canada has announced that it will ban two of China's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers from working on 5G phone networks. Restrictions on Huawei and ZTE were announced on Thursday by the industry minister. 

Many countries including the UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand have already put restrictions on the firms. A statement said, “This is an unfortunate political decision that has nothing to do with cyber security or any of the technologies in question.”

The four countries have signed an information-sharing agreement with Canada called "Five Eyes". It was developed as a mechanism for monitoring the Soviet Union and exchanging confidential information during the Cold War.

Canada's announcement was widely anticipated as its allies had already banned Huawei and ZTE from their own high-speed network. Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, that the decision was made after "a full review by security agencies and consultations with the nearest allies."

Huawei Canada said the device had been "thoroughly scrutinized" by the government and security agencies, adding that "there were no security incidents related to Huawei devices."