The Brazilian government is close to making a decision on which 5G system to adopt, even though the government has given no clues as to whether it will welcome Chinese participation in the building of those networks. The author of an article in Veja (the leading weekly magazine in Brazil, sometimes described as center-right politically) notes that many countries in the European Union have decided not to permit China to participate in the building of their 5G networks. While significant chunks of the world have come to a similar conclusion, the article states that relatively fewer debates have taken place within Brazil, even though the country has said it would like to render a decision soon. CNN Brasil (the Brazilian arm of the American media company) notes that banning Chinese telecommunications companies, such as Huawei, from building Brazil’s 5G networks would be costly. The company provides more than 50% of the equipment to Brazil’s seven telecommunications companies, all of which would have to be replaced at significant cost. Declaring Chinese telecommunications companies ineligible to participate in building 5G networks would also carry noteworthy diplomatic risk for Brazil, says CNN Brasil. The country maintains robust trade relations with China, especially in the agriculture sector. Brazil’s decision is a critical one for the operational environment because it will define the direction of the country’s digital economy; impact the economy’s competitiveness, depth of intellectual property protection, and privacy; and determine its level of cybersecurity for years to come.
There are also serious diplomatic problems that can evolve from the decision to bar Huawei…as there is no technical opinion to justify this decision, the Planalto Palace would have to make a declaration similar to that of the United States, that it would be
blocking the company by security measures.
Source: “A Questão do 5G e o Brasil (The 5G Issue and Brazil),” Veja (the leading weekly magazine in Brazil, sometimes described as center right politically), 21 December 2020. https://veja.abril.com.br/blog/murillo-de-aragao/a-questao-do-5g-e-o-brasil/
The debate in Brazil is limited. The echo of the financial system’s concerns about the problem has not yet arrived here. Nor was there any further reflection on the reasons for the European decision to discard the Chinese offer. It is right to consider, however, that the choice will play a critical role in matters of competitiveness, intellectual property, privacy, and information security in our country.
Source: “Brasil Deve Decidir se Chinesa Huawei Entra no Leilão do 5G (Brazil Must Decide Whether Chinese Huawei Enters the 5G Auction),” CNN Brasil (the Brazilian arm of the American media company), 20 December 2020. https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/business/2020/12/20/o-que-esta-acontecendo-com-a-disputa-da-huawei-pelo-leilao-de-5g
Banning Huawei from the auction can cause major problems for the Brazilian economy. The most direct would be the financial cost of replacing all equipment already owned by Huawei with equipment from other companies. 5G technology demands a large infrastructure capacity, fiber optic cable, antennas. It is much easier to adapt the structures already installed by Huawei than to replace…there are also serious diplomatic problems that can evolve from the decision to bar Huawei…as there is no technical opinion to justify this decision, the Planalto Palace would have to make a declaration similar to that of the United States, that it would be blocking the company by security measures.
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