Huawei remains SA’s preferred 5G supplier
The government backs the Chinese firm as its principal route to a new global internet standard, in spite of concerns about the company
The government has come out in support of Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, in spite of recent fears that it has a plan to rebuild the internet.The Financial Times (FT) reported last month that Huawei and China proposed to the UN a radical change to the way the internet works. Its plan claims to enable technologies such as holograms and self-driving cars, but critics say it will also build state surveillance into the architecture of the internet.Some countries are concerned that the new standard, called "New IP", could splinter the global internet and give state-run internet service providers control over citizens’ internet use, the FT says.But in an interview with the FM, communications & digital technologies minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said: "We are pushing any agenda that will make sure that SA occupies its rightful place in the technology space."Ndabeni-Abrahams says Huawei is still the best route that the country has to gain 5G internet speeds. And on the basis of ...
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