5:00 AM -- Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has been controversially barred from participating in Australia's A$36 billion (US$37.6 billion) national next-generation broadband network because of security concerns, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
The network's construction and management is the responsibility of NBN Co Ltd., which is headed by former Alcatel executive Mike Quigley. The decision to exclude Huawei, though, seems to have been made by the Australian government. (See Quigley's NBN Revamp and Australia Clears NBN Hurdle.)
Huawei, already a supplier to a number of Australian carriers including SingTel Optus Pty. Ltd. and Vodafone Australia, had been hoping for a major slice of the NBN network infrastructure action but this decision by the Australian government could hand an advantage to rivals Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson AB and Nokia Siemens Networks.
Security concerns are dogging Huawei in a number of markets, most particularly in the U.S. (See Huawei, ZTE Probed by Intelligence Agency, US Blocks Huawei LTE Bid , More Security Woes for Huawei, Global Vendors Face Tough New Rules in India and Huawei's Open Letter to the US.)
— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading
