LG Uplus engineers work on the installation of 5G base stations in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, April 26 (image credit: LG Uplus via The Korea Times)

The anti-Huawei campaign becomes an obstacle for LG Uplus in developing 5G

Investors and industry experts in South Korea see the dilemma of LG Uplus whether the third-largest mobile company in Korea will follow the U.S – led boycott of Huawei.

Industry officials said if the company continue to use Huawei equipment, sanctions will be given to them. But, LG Uplus decided to keep Huawei as the supplier for its 5G network equipment to ensure compatibility between LTE and 5G. It would be difficult for the company but LG Uplus have been using Huawei gear for its LTE Network service, said the firm official.

The telecommunications industry official understood the situation since LG Uplus has invested a lot of money in Huawei’s gear, it would be hard to replace all of it. The official advised the company to wait until the interference settle.  

Following the U.S statement, several mobile companies have been replacing Huawei’s equipment. Japan's Softbank chose Ericsson and Nokia as vendors for its 5G base station equipment.

BT Group of the U.K said they were going to remove Huawei equipment due to security reasons. The largest telecommunication company in Denmark, TDC A/S decided to work with Ericcson the Swedish vendor to build its 5G network.  

The anti-Huawei campaign from Washington ask for Korean companies to stop using Huawei equipment since it could be misused for spying or cyberattacking.   

According to Chosun Ilbo report, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry received messages from the U.S officials through various diplomatic channels to be careful of using Huawei products that could interfere security systems. 

Regarding the security issue, the company said no problems have been detected so far since the products are separated from security networks. LG Uplus has been using wire core network from Samsung Electronics equipment to identify and manage subscriber information.  

Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2019/06/133_270447.html