Mounting pressure on Huawei has handed NEC and its new partner NTT a “final chance” to compete in the global race to supply 5G equipment as the Japanese alliance eyes a land grab in the US and UK, according to NEC’s chief executive.
Takashi Niino said Japan Inc has an opportunity to revive its fading presence on the back of a rise in protectionism and Washington’s pressure on countries including Britain to cut Chinese supplier Huawei out of their telecoms networks.
NEC has significant ambitions, aiming to boost its share of the global market for base stations from 0.7 per cent now to 20 per cent by 2030.
Outside of Japan, NEC’s primary target is the US. But the supplier of wireless telecommunication equipment also hopes to regain its footing in the UK, which has placed a 35 per cent cap on the use of Huawei equipment on national security grounds and is reviewing that limit in light of new sanctions.
On Tuesday the US FCC designated Huawei ad ZTE as a national security threat, citing their close ties to China’s military and ruling Communist Party.
“In the wake of the Huawei issue, governments worldwide are considering what options are out there,” Mr Niino told the Financial Times. “There is a chance for NEC to be part of those options, a possibility that hardly existed in the past.”
Mr Niino said the UK government had recently reached out as part of a strategy to consider alternatives to Huawei equipment as Britain’s four mobile groups roll out 5G networks.
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