While Huawei navigates the industry despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban, it’s Canadian division has rolled out TV ads to showcase the possibilities of advanced smart devices and its commitment to Canada.
The 30-second ad starts rolling out today, July 1st and will be promoted on specialty TV channels as well as on all of its social channels for the entire month.
The short ad showcases a scene in which a woman in her car receives a phone call that is displayed on her car window. She then begins talking after swiping right on the window to answer the call — an example of advanced smart devices.
To note, the specific scene is set in the year 2025, which is when Huawei predicts that “all things will be sensing, all things will be connected, and all things will be intelligent,” according to the company’s Global Industry Vision report.
Chris Pereira, Huawei Canada’s director of public affairs, said in an email that the ad is meant to “emphasize our commitment to Canada and the importance of connection.”
“A better, faster network will help connect families across Canada especially families living in communities in Canada’s far north,” he said, referring to the company’s recent partnerships with ABC Communications and Ice Wireless to deploy internet connections and 4G LTE in rural and northern Canadian communities.
The company has said on numerous occasions that whether or not Canada bans it from participating in the deployment of 5G networks, it intends to stay committed to Canada and will continue to work with its partners on deploying 3G and 4G LTE.
It’s largest partners are Telus and Bell; neither company has decided on its 5G vendor.
Huawei also suffers a ban that was imposed by Trump in May on doing business in the U.S. with U.S. based companies. Since then, after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump confirmed that Huawei is now allowed to resume business and buy parts from U.S. companies.
He didn’t confirm though whether or not Huawei is allowed to operate in the U.S. The country’s Department of Justice has charged Huawei, its CFO Meng Wanzhou, and subsidiary Skycom 13 counts of bank and wire fraud. The charge has not been proven in court and Huawei has denied all accusations.
Meng was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 and her extradition case will likely run until October 2020.
In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder and CEO, was critical of Canada and said it should have ignored the U.S. extradition request of his daughter Meng. He went on to explain his commitment to Canada and revealed outlines of his intention on expanding the business in Canada in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.
The Globe and Mail reported that the land is yet to be bought “but for Huawei,’ our strategy to continue to develop and invest in Canada remains unchanged.'”
Ren urged in the interview that Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti should use his power to intervene and release his daughter.
Canada has not decided on whether or not it is banning Huawei from participating in the future of 5G in the country.
