Chinese tech company Huawei is´uninterested´ in building a private 5G network for Brazil´s government, Communications Minister Fábio Faria said.
“I was in China and I clearly realized that they have no interest in setting up the government’s private network”, said Fábio Faria in a public hearing organized by the parliamentary working group that monitors the implementation of 5G in Brazil.
In November last year, Brazil declared support to a plan by the US government, at the time headed by Donald Trump, to exclude Chinese state-owned companies from 5G networks.
But the recent rules for the 5G auction, approved by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) in February, do not exclude any companies (see below), as was underlined by Faria at the hearing.
“We do not exclude a country. We do not exclude China, to be very direct”, the minister said.
As to the private network for the federal public administration, Huawei is focused on the commercial operation of 5G, while Brazil´s government’s “has the right to choose its partner”, he added.
The purpose of the private network is to be a secure channel for strategic government communication. The company that supplies equipment for this network must follow standards of transparency and corporate governance.
The secure network in Brazil will consist of a mobile fiber optic network, limited to the Federal District, and a fixed network to serve federal public agencies.
According to the Minister of Communications, the Chinese company Huawei does not meet the criteria of transparency and governance required by Brazil.
