Huawei inches back toward NBN with Gillard photo op
A PR coup for the controversial Chinese company, which is banned in Australia but flourishing on this side of the Tasman.
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EARNINGS
Huawei has scored a PR coup with its global chairwoman Sun Yafang being photographed with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard during her trip to China.
The controversial Chinese company says the Prime Minister encouraged Huawei to seek opportunities to grow its commercial business in Australia, and to continue to forge partnerships with Australian companies and educational institutions.
Ms Gillard's office was quiet about the meeting, and it wasn't mentioned on her otherwise copious Twitter-stream.
Still, the very fact the she was willing to meet has to be seen as a positive for Huawei, especially given Ms Gillard has previously defended the ban on Huawei tendering for National Broadband Network business as "prudent." A proposed Huawei undersea cable between Perth and Singapore is also on hold. For Huawei in Australia, the only way is up. And direct dialogue with the PM can only help as it makes a renewed push for a slice of the $A40 billion NBN build.
Huawei has around 700 staff in Australia and around 120 in NZ.
Although it has been blocked from the NBN, it has picked up major mobile contracts with Singtel-Optus and Vodafone Hutchison (5% owned by Telecom NZ).
In Vodafone Hutchison's case, Huawei won the contract to build its new 4G network after a legal falling out with Nokia Siemens and controversy over 3G network performance (coincidentally, a new Vodafone "network guarantee TV ad was launched across the Tasman today addressing this issue).
Our Prime Minister was far more effusive after a Huawei meeting during his last trip to China, going on TV to actively promote the Chinese company as a cost-competitive Crown fibre option.
At no point has our government bought allegations of cyberspying. Huawei has won a swag of business around the public-private Ultrafast Broadband (UFB) rollout, the public-private Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) and, just this week, the contract to build Telecom's new 4G mobile network.
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Huawei inches back toward NBN with Gillard photo op
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