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Spreading misinformation in New Zealand

New Zealand disallowed the use of Huawei equipment in 5G networks back in 2018. Immediately after the ban, Huawei executives attempted to pressure the New Zealand Government and spread misinformation about its competitors. Pragmatism forced the mobile operators in New Zealand to select 5G vendors other than Huawei. Those that did so quickly are well on their way to a country-wide 5G network.

Mobile operators in New Zealand

There are three major mobile operators in New Zealand: Vodafone NZ, Spark, and 2degrees [Statista2022], [Wikipedia2022].

Vodafone has traditionally used wireless equipment from Nokia, including its 4G network. Spark and 2degrees have traditionally used Huawei wireless equipment [NZHerald2021], [YouTube2019].

2degrees' market share is smaller than the other two operators. In addition, 2degrees is owned by a private equity company and used vendor financing from Huawei to build its 3G/4G network [NZHerald2021].

New Zealand 5G test and deployment timeline

  • March 19, 2018: Spark conducts the first 5G trial in New Zealand. Huawei wireless equipment is used [Stuff2018].
  • November 27, 2018: Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) denies Spark's application to use Huawei equipment in its 5G network. GCSB uses the 2013 Telecommunications Interception Capability and Security (TICSA) act in denying Spark's application [NZHerald2018].
  • February 13, 2019: Huawei places advertisements in New Zealand newspapers protesting the Government's denial of Spark's 5G application [CNBC2019].
  • May 6, 2019: Andrew Bowater, Deputy CEO Huawei NZ, makes misleading claims about 5G vendors' development process and presence in China [Stuff2019], [YouTube2019].
  • August 19, 2019: GCSB accepts Vodafone's application to use Nokia equipment in its 5G network [NZHerald2019].
  • November 19, 2019. Spark selects Nokia as its 5G wireless equipment provider [Nokia2019], [RCR2021].
  • June 26, 2020. 2degrees signs deal with Vodafone to expand geographical coverage in New Zealand using Vodafone's cell towers [Scoop2020].
  • April 13, 2021. 2degrees declares the use of Ericsson equipment in its 5G network [NZHerald2021].
  • October 2021. Good 5G consumer experience reported for Vodafone, Spark [OpenSignal2021].

Huawei's claims

In [YouTube2019], Huawei's deputy CEO for New Zealand - Andrew Bowater - makes several claims regarding Huawei and its direct competitors. We document these claims below and fact-check them against publicly available documentation.

Ownership

Huawei statement: "We are ... 100% owned by our own staff."

Huawei has an opaque ownership structure. Most Huawei personnel are not fully aware of their employer's ownership structure [PF2], [PF3].

Record of wrongdoing

Huawei statement: "GCHQ has never ... found any evidence of deliberate wrongdoing by Huawei nor any state interference from China or any suggestion of counter-espionage..."

While GCHQ may not have found evidence of deliberate wrongdoing, there is other publicly available evidence of wrongdoing by Huawei executives, managers, and engineers [PF1], [PF2].

Competitor's R&D

Huawei statement: "... [Nokia, Ericsson] manufacture and do their product development in China like us. The key difference being that their headquarters are in Europe."

Nokia and Ericsson are not just headquartered in Europe - unlike Huawei, they do most of their research and development outside of China and outside the direct influence of the CCP [PF3].

American companies

Huawei statement: "America no longer had any skin in the [wireless telecom] market... Nortel, Sun and the other competitors .... had all disappeared..."

Nortel was a Canadian (not U.S.) company. CCP directed operations accelerated Nortel's demise [PF4].

Sun was never a wireless equipment vendor. It was acquired and is now integrated into Oracle [Wikipedia2022-2].

Lessons from New Zealand's experience with 5G

In November 2018, after its 5G application denial that included the projected use of Huawei equipment, Spark publicly objected to GCSB's decision. However, after Vodafone - which did not rely on Huawei for its 3G/4G network - decided to deploy Nokia equipment, Spark moved on from its objections and selected Nokia as its wireless vendor [NZHerald2018].

By the fourth quarter of 2021, all three of Vodafone, Spark, and 2degrees seem to have accepted GCSB's decision on Huawei. Vodafone and Spark have rolled out 5G in New Zealand, and their networks' performance appears to be satisfactory to customers [OpenSignal2021].

2degrees has not fully rolled out a 5G network (as of January 2022) - partially due to financial constraints, including previous reliance on Huawei vendor financing.

References and notes

[Statista2022] Estimated mobile phone provider market share in New Zealand in 2020, by subscribers. Statista. Retrieved January 8, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/996221/estimated-market-share-mobile-providers-by-subscribers-new-zealand/

[Wikipedia2022] Telecommunications in New Zealand. Retrieved January 8, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_New_Zealand

[Wikipedia2022-2] Sun Microsystems. Retrieved January 10, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Microsystems

[NZHerald2018] GCSB bans Spark from using Huawei gear for its 5G mobile upgrade. NZ Herald. November 27, 2018. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/gcsb-bans-spark-from-using-huawei-gear-for-its-5g-mobile-upgrade/5APETBE7J2AF74YL6JZQP25GGE/

[NZHerald2019] GCSB gives Vodafone the green light for 5G. NZ Herald. August 19, 2019. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/gcsb-gives-vodafone-the-green-light-for-5g/OFDC2BLHNBF4OAFFES5SBIOYZQ/

[NZHerald2021] 2degrees names 5G upgrade partner. NZ Herald. April 13, 2021. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/2degrees-names-5g-upgrade-partner/LZXLUHH7AWMY4IGQJSK377IV3A/

[YouTube2019] China Business Summit 2019: Andrew Bowater - Huawei in New Zealand. May 6, 2019 (Uploaded January 24, 2021). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYhoVFFMZzY

[Stuff2018] Spark conducts 'first NZ live trial' of 5G. Stuff. March 19, 2018. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/102390290/spark-conducts-first-nz-live-trial-of-5g

[Stuff2019] Huawei staff left in tears following GCSB decision, boss says. Stuff. May 6, 2019. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/112487648/huawei-staff-left-in-tears-following-gcsb-decision-boss-says

[RCR2021] Nokia secures deal to expand Spark 5G rollout in New Zealand. RCR Wireless. September 23, 2021. https://www.rcrwireless.com/20210923/business/nokia-secures-deal-expand-spark-5g-rollout-new-zealand

[Nokia2019] Nokia secures 50th 5G deal with Spark New Zealand. Nokia. November 19, 2019. https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2019/11/19/nokia-secures-50th-5g-deal-with-spark-new-zealand/

[OpenSignal2021] NEW ZEALAND: 5G Experience Report. OpenSignal. October 2021. https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2021/10/newzealand/mobile-network-experience-5g

[Scoop2020]: 2degrees fills network gaps with Vodafone deal. Scoop. June 26, 2020. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2006/S00190/2degrees-fills-network-gaps-with-vodafone-deal.htm

[CNBC2019]: Huawei places ads in New Zealand newspapers saying 5G exclusion will hit customers. CNBC. February 13, 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/huawei-ads-in-new-zealand-newspapers-say-5g-ban-will-hit-customers.html

[PF1]: Huawei steals T-mobile's robot. Picking Flowers. https://github.com/r-dube/pickingflowers/blob/main/tmobile.md

[PF2]: Cisco's code in Huawei's products. Picking Flowers. https://github.com/r-dube/pickingflowers/blob/main/cisco.md

[PF3]: Exploiting Sweden's legal system. Picking Flowers. https://github.com/r-dube/pickingflowers/blob/main/sweden.md.

[PF4]: Chinese military infiltrates Nortel. https://github.com/r-dube/pickingflowers/blob/main/nortel.md

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