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Pentagon, Ericsson Discuss 5G Communications Plans - DoD Undersecretary

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US government is discussing cooperating with Sweden-based Ericsson Corporation on developing 5G communications technology as an alternative to China’s Huawei products, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions Ellen Lord said Monday during remarks at a think tank.
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"Right now Huawei and Erikson are the two providers of 5G", Lord told the Atlantic Council on Monday. "We [the Defense Department] are talking to Ericsson… what we are contemplating right now is whether we want to broaden our onshore base of production".

"Right now Huawei has very good capability at a good cost. Our concern is security and what you trade off", Lord said. "We need innovation infrastructure. We can do it but we haven't figured it all out yet […] This is critical for us for military utilization".

READ MORE: Life in the Fast Lane: Nokia Plans to Introduce 5G in India

Lord acknowledged that the United States needed to improve its effectiveness in sharing intelligence about 5G security concerns with European allies on the Huawei issue.

US Crusade to Ban Huawei Faltering as Overseas Allies Show Resistance - Reports
The United States, New Zealand and Australia have banned Huawei from developing their 5G networks, citing security threats. Washington is lobbying European allies to introduce such restrictions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to stop sharing intelligence with countries using Huawei equipment.

According to The New York Times, citing sources familiar with the discussions, European and Asian officials have complained, however, privately that Washington's latest intelligence briefings for its allies did not share any sensitive information proving that the Chinese government has used Huawei to illegally obtain data.

READ MORE: Merkel Speaks Out Against Banning China's Huawei Amid US Threats

Huawei has recently faced allegations that it had been linked to the Chinese government and even involved in alleged spying on its behalf, something that the company has vehemently denied. In August, US President Donald Trump enacted legislation banning government agencies from using services from Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese company, amid the ongoing scandal.

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