It is unclear how much longer New Delhi can delay a decision on Huawei’s role in India’s 5G network. Pressure from both Washington and Beijing has left India in an uncomfortable position whereby a decision will inevitably provoke fury from at least one global superpower, and as such has led New Delhi to kick the can down the road. But uncertainty is immensely disruptive to business. This is especially so in the telecoms sector for whom long-term investment cycles are currently on hold, delaying the roll out of 5G and the subsequent economic benefits India is forecasted to reap. It is, therefore, a decision that Modi will have to face head-on sooner or later. As he does so, he would be wise to draw upon lessons from the UK’s policy shift.
At its heart, the UK government’s decision was based on the fact that the sweeping US sanctions which ban Huawei from using software and technology that originated in the US would be ‘highly likely’ to disrupt Huawei’s basic ability to supply operators. The latest bout of US sanctions amount to a declaration of war on Huawei’s existence in the international market, with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) assessment…
