India has decided not to exclude Chinese tech company Huawei from the country's upcoming 5G trials, according to a senior government official.
Huawei now officially has a chance to help build the 5G network of India, the second largest internet market in the world.
At an event in New Delhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's minister for technology and communications, said: "We have taken a decision to give 5G [bandwidth] for trial to all the players." The announcement is positive news for Huawei, which has been embattled by a US-led campaign against its business.
At the end of October, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that companies receiving government funding are prohibited from purchasing equipment or services from the Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE. The announcement is part of the US government’s initiative to place restrictions to impede the worldwide expansion of Huawei.
Huawei India CEO Jay Chen said: "We thank the Indian government for their continued faith in Huawei. We firmly believe that only technology innovations and high quality networks will be the key to rejuvenating the Indian telecom industry."
Despite being the second largest internet market with over 600 million users, India has not been part of the initiatives to block the Chinese company's expansion. According to Huawei, it has not encountered any barriers in the country and even received endorsement from one of the country's top telecom executives recently.
In February, Chen noted: "With all my engagements with the Indian government, nobody has told me that you have a problem."
Despite the US campaign against Huawei, its global business has expanded in 2019. The tech company claims that it has signed over 50 5G contracts globally. Prior to its inclusion in the 5G trials of India, one of Germany's biggest mobile carriers announced that it would use its equipment in its 5G networks.
Earlier in December, Telefonica Germany enlisted Huawei to provide equipment for its 5G network despite claims that its products pose a security risk.
