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HUAWEI

Norway telecom operator snubs Huawei for 5G network

Norwegian telecom operator Telenor said Friday it had picked Sweden's Ericsson to build the country's 5G network, dropping Chinese behemoth Huawei which had provided equipment for its current 4G network.

Published: 13 December 2019 15:47 CET
Norway telecom operator snubs Huawei for 5G network
Photo: AFP

The decision came after a warning from Norway's intelligence services that Huawei was too close to the Chinese government, echoing calls by the US for its allies to ban Huawei from future networks for fears that it may help Chinese espionage efforts.

“When selecting the vendor for the radio access network, we have considered important factors like technical quality, ability to innovate and modernise the network, commercial terms and conditions, as well as carried out an extensive security evaluation,” Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke said.

“Based on the comprehensive and holistic evaluation, we have decided to introduce a new partner for this important technology shift in Norway,” he said in a statement.

Telenor said the modernisation of its network would take four to five years. During that period, it would still use Huawei “to maintain the 4G network and also upgrade to 5G coverage in selected areas of Norway”.

Telecom experts consider Huawei as the leader in 5G equipment, in terms of both technology and price.

Huawei's Norway spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Scandinavian countries are expected to start rolling out super-fast 5G services next year.

Telenor has more than 180 million mobile subscribers in northern Europe and southeast Asia.

In October, Swedish operator Telia also picked Ericsson over Huawei for its 5G network.

READ ALSO: Calls for Huawei boycott get mixed response in Europe

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SECURITY

Swedish Huawei ban is legal, court rules

A Swedish ban on Chinese telecoms company Huawei was confirmed in court on Tuesday, citing the country's security as a just reason for banning its equipment in a 5G rollout.

Published: 23 June 2021 07:14 CEST
Swedish Huawei ban is legal, court rules
Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The administrative court in Stockholm ruled that the decision of the Swedish telecoms authority, PTS, to ban the use of equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in a new Swedish 5G telecom network last October — a move that irked Beijing — was legal.

Equipment already installed must also be removed by January 1st, 2025.

“Sweden’s security is an important reason and the administrative court has considered that it’s only the security police and the military that together have a full picture when it comes to the security situation and threats against Sweden,” judge Ulrika Melin said in a statement.

Huawei denounced the ruling, but did not say whether it would appeal.

“We are of course noting that there has been no evidence of any wrongdoings by Huawei which is being used as basis for this verdict, it is purely based on assumption,” Kenneth Fredriksen, the company’s vice-president for Central, Eastern Europe and the Nordic region, told AFP.

Huawei will now evaluate the decision and the “see what kind of actions we will take to protect our rights,” Fredriksen added.

After the UK in the summer of 2020, Sweden became the second country in Europe and the first in the EU to explicitly ban Huawei from almost all of the network infrastructure needed to run its 5G network.

Beijing had warned that PTS’ decision could have “consequences” for the Scandinavian country’s companies in China, prompting Swedish telecom giant and Huawei competitor Ericsson to worry about retaliation.

“We will continue to be available to have constructive dialogues with Swedish authorities to see if we can find pragmatic ways of taking care of security and at the same time keeping an open and fair market like Sweden has always been,” Fredriksen said.

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