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Turkcell has joined a growing number of European telcos who are calling for authorities to find a way to work with Huawei on 5G network security
The CEO of Turkish telco Turkcell, Kaan Terzioglu, has issued a strongly worded statement, backing Huawei in its bid to be involved in Europe’s 5G rollout.
Terzioglu said that network security was a concern across the board – and that it was unfair to force Huawei to defend itself against "uncorroborated claims".
"It wouldn’t be right to evaluate Huawei’s current situation by ignoring the competition in the smart phone market and the conflict of which company will lead 5G. You may recall that last year another smartphone company faced unfavourable news. As you can see, whenever an ‘unexpected’ company gets ahead, they are confronted. No one should expect us to act on uncorroborated claims. Turkcell will continue to work with its long-time business partner Huawei."
Turkey expects to launch 5G mobile services in 2020 and Turkcell intends to continue to work with the Chinese tech giant, during its evolution towards next generation networks.
Terzioglu said that Western firms had suffered more than their share of data security breaches and questioned the motivation for singling out China’s biggest tech firm.
"Data security remains as a top priority national security issue globally. We have witnessed many failures of Western companies in securing personal data. There still are ongoing cases and investigations on this specific topic. Consequently, we are completely aware of potential risks. We have been and always will be cautious about our business partnerships. We are very well prepared, regardless of where we buy the technology whether it is from a Chinese, European or an American company. We have the necessary means to secure our networks and our customer’s data."
Also in the news:
Vodafone CEO: Banning Huawei from 5G would create a huge problem for European telcos
Deutsche Telekom proposes new plan to keep Huawei involved in Europe’s 5G rollout
Huwaei underlines its 5G credentials with launch of 6.5Gbps chipset
