- Hamilton Mourão defended the participation of Huawei and other Chinese companies in the supply of 5G technology in Brazil;
- For him, as long as they can guarantee respect for data privacy, they should be eligible to supply the infrastructure;
- Of the seven carriers operating in the country, six of them have over 50% of Huawei equipment, with the two largest – Telefônica and Claro – using 65% and 55%, respectively.
Brazil’s Vice President Hamilton Mourão defended on Monday that Huawei and other Chinese companies can participate in the supply of the 5G technology in Brazil, as long as they can guarantee respect for data privacy, and recalled that the eventual exclusion would be very expensive to the country.
“Currently, 40% of the infrastructure we have on 3G and 4G is from Huawei. If by any chance they said that Huawei cannot supply equipment, it will cost much more, because it will have to dismantle everything it has here, since it does not speak with the equipment of others. And who is going to pay this bill? Us, consumers, “said the vice president during an event at the Associação Comercial de São Paulo.
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According to telecommunications companies, the percentages pointed out by the vice president are even lower than those actually used in Huawei equipment on 3G and 4G. Of the seven carriers operating in the country, six of them have more than 50% of Huawei equipment, with the two largest – Telefônica and Claro – using 65% and 55%, respectively.
However, contrary to the position of the companies, the federal government, under the determination of President Jair Bolsonaro, is still studying alternatives to avoid the participation of the Chinese company in the supply of equipment for 5G technology.
Encouraged by the US government, President Jair Bolsonaro questions the reliability of Chinese equipment and an alleged espionage network of the Asian country through telecommunications equipment.
Mourão, however, said that the posture of allowing participation has begun to take shape within the government as long as companies can guarantee the reliability of the data.
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“In my view, and I see that this vision begins to take shape within the government, any company that proves to be within the following tripod: respect for our sovereignty, respect for the privacy of the transmitted data and economy, can be hired for infrastructure”, stated.
The government foresees the publication of the public notice for the auction of 5G frequency zones until February 2021 and the auction until June.
Translated by LABS
