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Huawei chairman John Lord has called the government's position on Chinese equipment providers building 5G as"beyond comprehension". — Huawei chairman John Lord has called the government's position on Chinese equipment providers building 5G as "beyond comprehension".Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"There are only two countries ... that are not using Huawei - one is the US and one is Australia. It's beyond comprehension,"he said. Huawei is the world's largest maker of telecommunications network equipment and provides equipment for some 4G networks in Australia.

"This hasn't got anything to do with 5G. The US is not an expert on 5G,they're in a trade war with China,"he said.

"Nearly every other country in the world has found a way to incorporate Huawei."

One of the key areas of contention is the split between the"core"- or brain - of the network and"non-core"technology. Some telecommunications companies in Australia had long hoped to use Huawei technology for antennas and non-core equipment.

The government says it does not believe there can be enough of a split between the core and non-core to ensure national security on a mobile system that is expected to connect everything from self-driving cars to energy grids. Some industry experts and academics dispute the claim there is less of a division between non-core and core under 5G than earlier mobile technologies.

Mike Burgess,the director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate,said on Monday the stakes in 5G"could not be higher"and warned it was no longer sufficient to confine"high-risk vendors"to non-core parts of the network.

"The distinction between core and edge collapses in 5G networks. That means that a potential threat anywhere in the network will be a threat to the whole network,"he said.

Mr Lord disagreed completely,saying he was"absolutely astounded that Australian bureaucrats have come to this view when all the evidence elsewhere says otherwise".

"How they've[ended up with] this isolated opinion is beyond me. It’s not what I think it’s what the global experts think.”

As recently as September,an Australian telecommunications executive privately said the provider isconsidering putting in an application to the government to use Huawei on non-core parts of the network.

Telstra has partnered withSwedish technology company Ericsson for 5G,which has factories in China.

When theban on Huawei was announced in August,Mr Lord put the option of legal action against the government on the table.

However,he said on Tuesday that the legal route was"not an option we are following at the moment"with the company instead"getting on with business".

"Smart city,smart-everything type scenarios don’t necessarily require 5G,"he said,noting their focus will remain on 4G and providing mobile phone devices,as well as solar solutions.

He said he hoped"level heads will prevail"in the future,and the decision to ban Chinese providers would be revisited.

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