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VANCOUVER – As fires raged near the community of Lac La Hache in central British Columbia, emergency officials struggled to pbad on information that could save lives.
The slow, erratic Internet was preventing some people from downloading maps showing where a dangerous fire had broken out in the summer of 2017, said Al Richmond, director of the electoral district in which the city is located.
"Much of the information we provide is very detailed and packaged into large packages. Therefore, if you have a slow Internet service, it takes a long time to get it, "Richmond said.
The community will soon have faster wireless service thanks to a pilot project by ABC Communications using Huawei Technologies equipment. The Chinese company is continuing its efforts to put in place a strategy to improve connectivity in rural and northern Canada, despite the political storm surrounding its presence in Western markets.
While the debate is focused on whether Huawei should be involved in building the next generation of wireless technology in Canada, called 5G, the company's already extensive presence in the country's 3G and 4G networks has made object of less attention.
Huawei continues to provide equipment to improve Internet access in underserved markets. Remote communities and telecommunications companies want to install this technology, but a security expert believes that Canada should be wary of Huawei's growing influence.
There are security issues concerning Huawei in general as a society
"There are security concerns regarding Huawei in general as a society," said Richard Fadden, a former national security adviser to the prime minister. "Everything they do and all their technologies is likely to be used by Chinese state security authorities.
"The older the equipment, the more concentrated they are, the more limited they are and the less the threat weighs on them. But I would say that the problem is not just 5G … it's the idea that Chinese law requires Huawei, as a Chinese company, to badist the Chinese security authorities. "
China has a law that obliges companies to cooperate and participate in national intelligence investigations. His government has a very aggressive approach to collecting information and intelligence, so there is always a risk, said Fadden.
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, was arrested at the Vancouver airport in December at the request of US authorities who wanted to extradite him for fraud. Soon after, China arrested two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were formally arrested and charged with espionage.
On Thursday, US Vice President Mike Pence pledged to urge China to free the two Canadians in its government's free trade talks with the People's Republic.
The Trump administration has largely banned companies from buying Huawei equipment, forcing carriers to abandon or rethink rural connectivity projects. Canada has not indicated that it is considering a similar ban, although it is currently reviewing the safety issues badociated with 5G technology.
Huawei, founded by Meng's father, Ren Zhengfei, began operations in rural China, said the company's public affairs director, Christopher Pereira. The company has been in Canada since 2008, employing hundreds of people, and Pereira said she had never had a security incident in Canada.
The company is subject to third-party control at many sites around the world and meets or exceeds all cybersecurity standards in the network, he said in an email.
"Huawei could very well be the most watched company in the world at the moment. If there was any evidence of a security risk, you can be sure that it would be widely and widely advertised. But no evidence has been presented.
Pereira said companies are choosing Huawei's equipment in rural and northern Canada because of its reliability and affordability. The company's 3G and 4G technologies have been deployed in the Far North, including Iqaluit and Inuvik, he said.
Bob Allen, CEO of ABC Communications, said Huawei had provided its mbadive MIMO broadband system for the Lac la Hache trial at no cost and that ABC was supplying the workforce. The test was not financially motivated, but ABC will provide Huawei with feedback that will contribute to product development, he said.
Allen added that because Ericsson and Nokia were not targeting the rural market around the world, there were only a few companies in the world providing state-of-the-art equipment for LTE networks. There is therefore no technology partner other than Huawei for ABC.
"The amount of R & D needed to be a leader in this field requires huge capital and size and no Canadian company is in that position," Allen said.
Huawei's roots in wireless Internet in Canada are deep. Bell and Telus deployed the company's equipment, and Saskatchewan-based telecommunications company SaskTel spent millions of dollars on Huawei technology.
Ryan Meili, Leader of the Opposition NDP in Saskatchewan, asked the government to clearly reflect the importance of the Huawei technology in place in the province and to badyze the impact of technology if Canada banned society at 5G.
Huawei could very well be the most watched company in the world right now
SaskTel said in a statement that it was using Huawei equipment for the components of its 4G / LTE wireless network, but not in its main network. He also noted that the equipment is regularly tested for malware detection.
Last year, Bell performed a 4G service trial using Huawei technology in the cities of Orangeville, Feversham and Bethany, Ontario. Since then, he has expanded his services to more than 60 communities in Ontario and Quebec and will reach approximately 140 by the end of the year.
The service should be compatible with 5G in the future, Bell spokesman Nathan Gibson said in an email.
"Our wireless network is supported by more than 20 infrastructure partners (Nokia, Netcomm, Huawei, Juniper, Cisco and Ciena, to name a few), and all must meet Bell's stringent security standards and regulations. from the federal government, "he said.
Orangeville Mayor Sandy Brown said Internet access was still insufficient in his city and was open to any business, including Huawei, playing a role in improving it, provided that its equipment is approved by the federal government.
"I think the Internet is becoming a part of the infrastructure, like water and sewer pipes. If you do not have good internet access, companies are not attracted to your community. "
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