Just days after the US urged its allies to ban Huawei equipment over security concerns, New Zealand has officially blocked a telecommunications operator from using the company’s 5G gear.
Telecom operator Spark announced that the Director-General of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) rejected its proposal to deploy Huawei 5G radio access network (RAN) equipment.
In a statement, Spark said:
“The Director-General has informed Spark today that he considers Spark’s proposal to use Huawei 5G equipment in Spark’s planned 5G RAN would, if implemented, raise significant national security risks.
Under the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act (TICSA), this means Spark cannot implement or give effect to its proposal to use Huawei RAN equipment in its planned 5G network.”
Spark added it is reviewing the GCSB’s reasoning and will consider whether further action is necessary.
It is unclear whether the US request influenced the Director-General’s decision, but the close timing has drawn attention.
The US has long argued that Huawei represents a national security threat because of the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese government and concerns that Chinese law could compel Huawei to assist with espionage. Huawei consistently denies these allegations.
Responding to recent criticism, Huawei said it was “shocked by the behaviours of the US government detailed in the article” and warned against governments acting beyond their jurisdiction.
New Zealand’s move makes it the last of the Five Eyes partners — the intelligence-sharing alliance that includes the US, UK, Australia, and Canada — to take a firm stance on Huawei. The decision suggests New Zealand will align more closely with policies already adopted by the US and Australia.
By contrast, the UK and Canada have continued to allow Huawei equipment under strict national security oversight. Authorities in those countries argue that rigorous evaluation and monitoring of vendor equipment can preserve access to innovative technologies while managing risk.
Canada’s Cyber Security Centre has even argued that banning a major vendor could increase overall risk by shrinking the pool of suppliers. Fewer vendors can concentrate critical vulnerabilities: if one vendor is compromised, a larger portion of the network could be affected.
Huawei infrastructure remains widely used across many countries, including in Europe. But officials worldwide have heightened scrutiny of 5G networks because those networks are expected to support critical and sensitive applications such as autonomous vehicles, smart city systems, and remote medical procedures.
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