India’s government has given its approval for Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to participate in a test run of its next-generation 5G network.

The upcoming 5G trials will take place in January, unnamed officials told Reuters today.

Officials from India’s telecoms department are due to meet wireless operators on Dec. 31 in order to confirm the timing of the 5G trials, Reuters said. The report adds that all wireless operators in the country have received “in-principle” permission to take part in the trials.

The announcement is notable because India has long delayed making any decision on whether to allow Huawei to participate in its 5G trials. The U.S. government has been pushing allied nations to reject the company, citing its close ties with Beijing and the possibility that its equipment could contain “backdoors” that facilitate spying on communications.

But in October, Huawei’s India head Jay Chen reportedly said the company was willing to sign a “no-backdoor” agreement with the country to allay those fears.

The Indian government’s decision represents another win for Huawei, coming just days after Italy’s new minister of economic development said the company should be allowed to participate in its 5G networks too.

India is said to be the world’s second-biggest wireless market in terms of users. It’s set to hold an airwaves auction for 5G services in March 2020.

The India news was quickly followed today by the announcement that Huawei’s revenue rose this year to a record 850 billion yuan, or $122 billion this year, a slightly lower-than-expected pace that Huawei Chairmain Eric Xu blamed on a continuing U.S. ban on using some U.S. technologies.

Photo: Yefei He/Flickr