Australia’s 5G Ban on Huawei, ZTE a Safeguard in Case Relations with China Deteriorate, Says Former PM

A woman stands at a Huawei booth featuring 5G technology at the PT Expo in Beijing, China, on Sept. 28, 2018. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull recently revealed that Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE were barred from Australia’s 5G network as a "contingency" should relations sour between the two countries. Reuters/Stringer

Australia banned Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE from having a hand in building its 5G network to “hedge against adverse contingencies” in case friendly relations with the Chinese regime deteriorated, says former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The two Chinese tech giants were banned from providing 5G technology to Australia on national security grounds under Turnbull’s government shortly before he resigned in August 2018. The difference between 5G networks and 4G or 3G networks is that in a 5G network, every component of the network can access every other part of the network, which could leave a network vulnerable.