EU push to remove Huawei, other Chinese telecoms gear could cost US$46 billion: report
GSMA Intelligence says move will cost up to US$46 billion, roughly three times more than European Commission has suggested
Commissioned by seven European operator groups, including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Orange, the report was produced by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of industry body GSMA.
If implemented, the removal mandate “would represent one of the most significant structural interventions in the European telecoms sector in decades”, the report said.
Of the €30 billion to €40 billion estimate, mobile networks accounted for €16 billion to €22 billion, largely reflecting the cost of replacing base stations and other network hardware. Transport networks, which carry traffic between sites, accounted for €9 billion to €12 billion, while fixed broadband equipment, including fibre access gear, added another €5 billion.
Brussels’ impact assessment put the cost to mobile operators at €3.4 billion to €4.3 billion a year over a three-year transition period, or roughly €10 billion to €13 billion in total.
Much of the discrepancy comes down to scope. The commission assessed only mobile networks, while the GSMA study also included fixed and transport infrastructure, drawing on internal data from operators representing nearly half of the EU’s mobile connections.