Sunil Mittal roots for Huawei

Amid a US push for a global ban on Huawei over “security issues” ahead of 5G adoption, India’s top telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal on Thursday threw his weight behind the Chinese firm, saying its products are “leading edge” and “superior” to rivals and asserted that the firm “should be in play”.

The US has blacklisted Huawei and is now persuading its allies to block the world’s largest provider of networking gear and the No. 2 smartphone maker from their new mobile networks.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum here, US secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross said the Trump administration’s opposition to the Chinese company was not about protectionism but “genuine security risks” that go beyond front-end equipment, percolating to even areas such as upgrades and maintenance.