K-pop stars and Huawei help South Korea win global 5G race, as Chinese trade trumps US fears
*Seoul got the jump over US carrier’s Verizon’s 5G introduction by providing early services to celebrity customers
*Unlike other US allies, South Korea has not restricted Huawei from taking part in its next-generation networks,
*with the nation’s heavy dependence on China trade keeping it from caving to US pressures, say observers
John Power
Published: 7:30am, 5 Apr, 2019
South Korea on Friday became the world’s first country to roll out nationwide 5G networks, with one of its three telcos using Huawei technology, at a time when the United States has accused the embattled Chinese firm’s technology of being used to spy for Beijing.
Unlike other US allies, Seoul has not restricted the firm from taking part in its next-generation networks, championed by President Moon Jae-in as a means to revive a flagging economy and drive innovation in areas ranging from smart cities to self-driving cars.
LG Uplus, the smallest of the country’s three carriers, has opted to use Huawei base stations and transmitters for its 5G network, continuing its previous partnership and ensuring compatibility with its 4G network. SK and KT, South Korea’s biggest and second-biggest carriers, respectively, have chosen Samsung Electronics, Ericsson and Nokia as their preferred suppliers of equipment, but have put those decisions down to cost and technical reasons, rather than security.
Western governments have been made to fear China, but Ireland can’t afford to
“The desire of Moon Jae-in, who is pursuing a pro-China policy, to continue exchanges with China, should be seen as a factor in the exchanges with Huawei despite the opposition of the US,” said Kim Jong-ha, a security expert at Hannam University in Daejeon.
more @ https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geop...nd-huawei-help-south-korea-win-global-5g-race
*Seoul got the jump over US carrier’s Verizon’s 5G introduction by providing early services to celebrity customers
*Unlike other US allies, South Korea has not restricted Huawei from taking part in its next-generation networks,
*with the nation’s heavy dependence on China trade keeping it from caving to US pressures, say observers
John Power
Published: 7:30am, 5 Apr, 2019
South Korea on Friday became the world’s first country to roll out nationwide 5G networks, with one of its three telcos using Huawei technology, at a time when the United States has accused the embattled Chinese firm’s technology of being used to spy for Beijing.
Unlike other US allies, Seoul has not restricted the firm from taking part in its next-generation networks, championed by President Moon Jae-in as a means to revive a flagging economy and drive innovation in areas ranging from smart cities to self-driving cars.
LG Uplus, the smallest of the country’s three carriers, has opted to use Huawei base stations and transmitters for its 5G network, continuing its previous partnership and ensuring compatibility with its 4G network. SK and KT, South Korea’s biggest and second-biggest carriers, respectively, have chosen Samsung Electronics, Ericsson and Nokia as their preferred suppliers of equipment, but have put those decisions down to cost and technical reasons, rather than security.
Western governments have been made to fear China, but Ireland can’t afford to
“The desire of Moon Jae-in, who is pursuing a pro-China policy, to continue exchanges with China, should be seen as a factor in the exchanges with Huawei despite the opposition of the US,” said Kim Jong-ha, a security expert at Hannam University in Daejeon.
more @ https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geop...nd-huawei-help-south-korea-win-global-5g-race
