Southeast Asia’s largest phone carrier, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, is waiting to see how the disagreement between the US and Huawei ends before choosing Huawei as a supplier.
PT Telekomunikasi is still a long way from launching its 5G services, but not directly ruling out a partnership with Huawei provides a much-needed boost for the under fire technology company.
“We can wait and see”
“We’re still waiting to see what’s going to happen with Huawei and the U.S. and China and the U.S."
Ririek Adriansyah, PT Telekomunikasi
President Director of PT Telekomunikasi, Ririek Adriansyah, is nervous about taking Huawei on as a supplier while the trade war continues, but is definitely considering it for the future.
He said in an interview on Monday, “We’re still waiting to see what’s going to happen with Huawei and the U.S. and China and the U.S.,” And he went on to say, “We use all major vendors in the world, so we can wait and see. We can go in any direction that we believe to be the best option for us.”
After President Trump has blacklisted Huawei due to security concerns, it has been a struggle for the company to be trusted as a 5G supplier in other countries.
Time will tell
The carrier’s President also said that they will be supplying regional markets such as Singapore, Thailand and South Korea in introducing 5G services. And with Huawei being one of PT Telekomunikasi’s key suppliers throughout the years, it could have a huge negative impact on the company if they were to follow in the footsteps of the United States.
The popular Indonesian carrier has been doing well in the last financial year, and is expected to post an increase in net income. The President shared that this is why they are being very particular about future 5G suppliers - it simply doesn’t want to risk unnecessary damage to the company.
In fact, PT Telekomunikasi shares rose 2.4% last week and are growing at a steady rate. It’ll be interesting to see the company’s next move regarding Huawei.
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