Optus denies that its Chinese business partners are a security risk
OPTUS has accused Telstra of fanning xenophobia by raising the threat posed by Chinese espionage in the new national broadband network.
The accusation follows questions raised about the involvement of controversial Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies to help build Australia's $15 billion national broadband network under the SingTel-Optus bid proposal.
Huawei has been the subject of critical scrutiny by intelligence agencies in the US and Britain amid concerns about its close links with the Chinese military and intelligence apparatus.
Huawei's proposed involvement in the Optus national broadband network bid is believed to have been scrutinised by Australian security agencies ahead of the expected announcement next week of the preferred tenderer for the project, The Australian reported.