Nokia Says UK Must Be Wary Of Huawei’s 5G Kit

Huawei’s rival, Nokia has stated that the UK ought to stay away from utilizing Huawei’s equipment, citing vulnerabilities in its telecoms kit that could pose risks for 5G networks. Sweden’s Ericsson and Nokia are currently in the race for selling next-gen telecoms equipment. The Chinese company was formerly in the lead, but the USA has pressured allies to ban the company due to security concerns.

Nokia’s CTO Marcum Weldon stated that US pressure was counterbalancing unfair advantages enjoyed by Huawei previously. He stated that the market was now fair. They were earlier disadvantaged due to Chinese firms enjoying freedoms in funding mechanisms. The Chinese firm has strongly denied these charges, calling them misleading.

It stated that resilient and secure networks were possible only by proper collaboration throughout the industry. Common standards for cyber-security and privacy protection had to be set for proper judgment of participants.

The Chinese firm stated that cyber-security was a top priority. It claimed a perfect track record in supplying high quality, secure and trustworthy products in Europe. Weldon countered that Nokia-supplied equipment was safer.

A Finite State report was cited, which mentioned Huawei equipment’s vulnerabilities. Huawei was found lacking in security compared to other vendors, stated the report. While a GCHQ unit has criticized Huawei’s security measures, no backdoors were found. Weldon stated that Huawei’s security concerns were serious and untrustworthy while conceding that Nokia wasn’t subject to these same stringent assessments as Huawei was.

The UK is now reviewing the Huawei’s supply chain’s security. It is being pressurized by USA to block Huawei from its 5G networks. Weldon stated that this had to be taken seriously since 5G had key roles to play in upcoming infrastructure.

Chinese vendors should be seen with suspicion since there was a likelihood of security vulnerabilities, he said. While Downing Street has decided not to allow Huawei into its 5G network core, it is yet to be known what the final action would be. UK operators have begun rolling out 5G services and have warned about increased costs in case of a complete ban.