Huawei-Cambodia 5G deal: US security concerns may not hamper company's growth

Huawei, the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has been facing mounting scrutiny, led by the United States, amid worries its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying.

Huawei technologies to sign an agreement with Cambodia to build the 5G network in the country, a government spokesman has said according to Reuters. Government spokesman, Sry Thamrong, boasted that Cambodia will be the first country in Southeast Asia to have 5G technology with the help of Huawei.

Cambodia's move comes just a day after the UK said that it will allow Huawei Technologies a restricted role in building parts of its 5G network. Britain will block Huawei from all core parts of the 5G network and access to non-core parts would be restricted, Reuters reported yesterday. "It's essential that we get the balance right, ensuring that our networks are built in a way that is secure against interference from whatever source, but also are competitive," said Britain's finance minister, Philip Hammond.

Huawei, the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has been facing mounting scrutiny, led by the United States, amid worries its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. The company, however, says the concerns are unfounded.

5G, which will offer much faster data speeds and become the foundation stone of many industries and networks, is seen as one of the biggest innovations since the birth of the internet itself a generation ago. 5G can unlock new possibilities, it promises super-fast connections which tech evangelists say will transform the way we live our lives, enabling everything from self-driving cars to remote surgery and automated manufacturing.

But that dramatically increases the security risk, US officials say, because of the increasingly central role that telecommunications will play in our lives and the expected dramatic increase in connected devices in the network.

Despite repeated efforts of the US to push its allies against Huawei, the company is going strong. Huawei reported 39 per cent jump in revenue in Q1, it was the first time the Chinese technology firm's posted quarterly results.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also visited Huawei Technologies' Beijing office on Thursday, which was seen as a sign of Malaysian support for the Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier.