Huawei’s 5G ambitions in Europe under a cloud after UK ban

European nations are facing increasing pressure to exclude Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies from their 5G roll outs after the UK decision to ban the company completely and a new recommendation from the European Commission to restrict “high risk” suppliers.

Huawei is not named in the 44-page document released on Friday by the Commission, but the criteria for high-risk suppliers includes the likelihood of interference from a non-EU country, ability to ensure supply, and overall quality of products and cybersecurity practices.

“Most Member States have not yet established or communicated clear plans to effectively address existing situations of dependency on high-risk suppliers and prevent future dependencies,” the report said. “Progress is urgently needed to mitigate this important risk.”

It added that most members were in the process of strengthening regulatory powers, including ensuring that “authorities have powers to regulate the procurement of network equipment and services by operators, based on security-related grounds”.

Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report comes at a critical time for the Chinese company, with Germany also looking at whether to exclude Huawei after the UK decision.

Analysts said France’s decision to limit the use of Huawei’s 5G gear through the issuing of limited term licenses amounted to a de facto ban on the Chinese company. Like other countries in Europe, France is developing its next generation 5G network amid growing tensions between the US and China, making any decision on Huawei fraught with political risk.

Earlier this month, the French cybersecurity agency said it would issue licenses valid for periods of between three and eight years for operators to use equipment, including Huawei’s, but that they could not renew the license for Huawei gear, according to a Reuters report.

“France has said it won’t ban Huawei, but in effect it has,” said Simon Piff, vice-president of security practice at IDC Asia-Pacific. “I believe [the French] are simply trying to sound more diplomatic on the issue.”

With the UK and France essentially banning Huawei’s 5G gear, all eyes are on Germany, the largest telecoms market in Europe and a key customer for the Chinese supplier.

“Germany has not banned Huawei, but Deutche Telekom has been reducing reliance on Huawei over the years,” he added.