FCC Chief Says 5G Security Message Resonates Abroad

These trips have come alongside a US campaign to persuade authorities to ban use of equipment from vendors it deems a security risk, most notably Huawei.

“We are not going in and demanding anyone shares our view. In many cases we found that view has been shared and [authorities overseas] are looking forward to working with us, especially some of our closest security partners.”

He noted the fact 5G networks are likely to be largely software defined will offer a “broader attack surface” with a need to “make sure we mitigate the risks on that surface as much as possible”.

“Sometimes the conversation presents a false dichotomy that you have to either choose security or you have to choose leadership in 5G, and the argument I use as a counterpoint is look at the US experience,” Pai added, noting domestic deployments only use equipment from “trusted vendors”.

He continued: “We think we can hit the sweet spot of both security and deployment, and that’s a message that’s resonated largely around the world as other countries have looked to piggy back on that successful model.”―GSMA