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India is set to lock Huawei and ZTE out of its 5G rollout

The decision is awaiting approval from the Indian Prime Minister's office.

Sareena Dayaram Senior Editor
Sareena is a senior editor for CNET covering the mobile beat including device reviews. She is a seasoned multimedia journalist with more than a decade's worth of experience producing stories for television and digital publications across Asia's financial capitals including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mumbai. Prior to CNET, Sareena worked at CNN as a news writer and Reuters as a producer.
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Sareena Dayaram
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KIEV, UKRAINE - 2018/10/20: A man seen talking on the mobile phone as he walks next to a Huawei logo in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Pavlo Conchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Chinese telecoms Huawei and ZTE are expected to be locked out of India's 5G rollout plans amid spiralling relations between the neighbouring countries, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday.  

The South Asian nation will restrict bidders from any country it shares a land border with, under amended investment rules that cite concerns over national security, according to the report. The decision is awaiting approval from the Indian Prime Minister's office and is set to be announced within one to two weeks.

If approved, India will join a growing list of countries including the US, UK and Australia that have banned Huawei from providing 5G technology for their respective wireless networks over security concerns. In late June, Singapore chose Europe's Nokia and Ericsson over Huawei to develop the city-state's main 5G network. Huawei has repeatedly denied it poses a security risk.

The news of a potential ban comes as anti-China sentiment in India remains high following a deadly clash in June at a disputed border high up in the Himalayas that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. The fallout has included a ban on video-sharing app TikTok -- which has a Chinese parent company-- along with at least 58 other apps that originate from China. 

Huawei and ZTE did not immediately respond to emails seeking comments.