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| Russia's move with Huawei may be as much a show of solidarity with Beijing against the US as it is a drive to bring ultra high-speed internet to Russia (AFP Photo/FRED DUFOUR) |
Moscow (AFP) - While the US banned Huawei for alleged espionage and asked its allies to do the same, Moscow has rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese tech company, letting it develop 5G networks in Russia.
Analysts
say the move is as much a show of solidarity with Beijing against the US as it
is a drive to bring ultra high-speed internet to Russian tech users.
This month,
Huawei opened its first 5G test zone in Moscow in partnership Russian operator
MTS, with a view to rolling out the service to the rest of the capital.
Moscow
authorities say the network will become part of the city's normal
infrastructure within the next few years.
A pioneer
in telecoms networks compared to many Western countries, Russia plans to deploy
5G in all of its main cities by 2024.
When
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia in June -- at the height of
Washington's conflict with Huawei -- Russia's main operator MTS signed a
contract with the Chinese company.
'We live
well in Russia'
At the
inauguration of the 5G zone in Moscow, the CEO of Russia's branch of Huawei
Zhao Lei praised the company's activities in the country.
"We
have been working in Russia for 22 years. Thanks to our partners, we live well
here," he said.
He added that Huawei, considered a world leader in 5G technology, plans to "lead in the development of 6G" in the future.
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Russia's
move with Huawei may be as much a show of solidarity with Beijing
against the
US as it is a drive to bring ultra high-speed internet to Russia (AFP
Photo/FRED DUFOUR)
|
He added that Huawei, considered a world leader in 5G technology, plans to "lead in the development of 6G" in the future.
Huawei is
also the world's second-largest smartphone company. It did not respond to AFP's
interview requests.
A source in
Russia's 5G research community said Huawei is the biggest investor in the
development of mobile technologies in Russia, with "the largest research
laboratory of all operators" in Moscow.
According
to the Vedomosti business daily, Huawei currently employs 400 people in Moscow
and 150 in Saint Petersburg in mobile research and development. It aims to
employ 500 more people by the end of 2019 and 1,000 more over five years.
Experts
said Russia's welcome of Huawei does not mean the Chinese company is alone in
the race for developing 5G in Russia.
"Russian
operators are all collaborating with multiple 5G equipment vendors, Huawei
included. We do not see any clear 5G leaders in the network deployment in
Russia," said Michela Landoni, an analyst at Fitch Solutions.
She said
operators prefer this approach to avoid being "reliant on one specific
vendor" and to protect themselves against cyber threats.
The Tele2
operator was the first to launch 5G in Russia with Sweden's Ericsson in August,
on Moscow's main Tverskaya street.
'Economic front'
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Russia and
China, analysts say, are trying to break away from the US
monopoly over
smartphone operating systems (AFP Photo/Christof STACHE)
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'Economic front'
In the
midst of a trade war and technological rivalry with China, the US has
threatened to cut Huawei's access to the US components and services it needs,
such as the Android operating system that the company uses on its phones.
Russia then
promptly stepped in to offer its Aurora operating system to the Chinese group.
If Android
remains Huawei's preferred choice, Landoni said Aurora could be a
"short-term solution" for the group.
According
to the analyst, Aurora could become a "stepping stone" in the
development for Huawei's own OS.
According
to Sylvain Chevallier, a partner at the technology consulting firm
BearingPoint, the aim is "to create an economic front against the
US."
Russia and
China, he said, are trying to break away from the US monopoly over smartphone
operating systems.
As for the
espionage risks Washington has warned of, Russia is hardly worried.
While using
foreign mobile equipment risks foreign government accessing data, for Russia
there is "no big difference" if it is Huawei, Ericsson or another
company, said Evgeny Khorov, the head of the Wireless Network Lab at Russia's
Academy of Sciences.
"Many
people use Android phones whose system is designed by Google. Does this mean
that Google has access to all the data? Yes, of course," he said.
"So
what's the difference between Huawei and Google in this case?"
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