HUAWEI Technologies Co. expects to lead 5G development in Brazil, but sees some challenges for the country to catch up with other Latin American markets in deploying the ultrafast service, an executive said.

The world’s largest telecom equipment maker has successfully tested 5G with all four main carriers in Brazil and is helping them modernize their infrastructure ahead of a long-awaited spectrum auction, said Nicolas Driesen, Huawei’s director of technology.

“We have been working on 5G since 2009 and our end-to-end technology is cost-competitive because it allows the reuse of some equipment from previous generations,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying yesterday.

Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia Oyj are also racing to deploy 5G but Huawei’s low costs and longstanding relationships give it an inside track in much of Latin America.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged governments worldwide to shun Huawei because of spying concerns but few have heeded those warnings.

Even with Huawei leading the charge, Brazil is falling behind other countries in the region, Driesen said.

In April, its smaller neighbor Uruguay became the first Latin American country to deploy 5G for commercial purposes. “And Mexico is also one to two years ahead of Brazil,” the executive said, adding it will still be possible to catch up if the auction scheduled for March 2020 occurs on time.(SD-Agencies)