Huawei in the running for Thailand 5G: Report

Huawei Technologies was among five companies bidding to build 5G core networks in Thailand, said Advanced Info Service Pcl, Thailand's largest mobile operator on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report.

Thailand has said it would not exclude Chinese vendors from building its 5G infrastructure, but would stay mindful of security issues, the report said.

AIS is near the final stage of selecting vendors from a list including Sweden's Ericsson, Finland's Nokia, China's ZTE and South Korea's Samsung, as well as the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker Huawei.

"We are in the process of selecting vendors for the proper 5G core networks," AIS president Hui Weng Cheong was quoted by the report, naming the five companies.

AIS announced a partnership with Huawei last week to sell 5G smartphones made by the Chinese company.

AIS holds 23 5G spectrum licenses in the country following auctions in February, the most compared to its competitors True Pcl and Total Access Communication. AIS planned to spend up to 45 billion baht ($1.42 billion) this year on infrastructure, and aimed to build the first 5G core networks this month in capital Bangkok and industrial hub Eastern Economic Corridor, Hui said in the report.