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US authorities have called for a complete ban on Huawei Technologies in Europe’s 5G networks over fears of Chinese spying, leaving some of the largest mobile carriers in the continent fretting that their investment plans could be jeopardised. Photo: Agence France-Presse

French telecoms operator Orange doubles down on Huawei defence amid heightened security debate

  • Orange chief executive Stéphane Richard said he hoped more stringent rules would not lead to a de facto veto of Huawei in Europe
Huawei

The head of France’s state-controlled telecommunications operator Orange has renewed his defence of Huawei Technologies’ right to sell 5G equipment in Europe amid tense debates on the continent over mobile network security.

Discussion has intensified in France and Germany this week after European industrial policy chief Thierry Breton dismissed claims that relying on European companies to build a 5G mobile network would delay its roll-out.

US authorities have called for a complete ban on Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment supplier, in Europe’s 5G networks over fears of Chinese spying, leaving some of the largest mobile carriers fretting that their investment plans could be jeopardised.

“I’m against excluding Huawei,” Orange chairman and chief executive Stéphane Richard told reporters at a news conference in Paris on Thursday, but added that he was all in favour of a clear set of European-wide rules.

New US limits on Huawei suppliers coming soon, says US Commerce Secretary Ross in Davos

Shenzhen-based Huawei has repeatedly denied that its equipment can be used for spying.

While agreeing on the desire shown by Breton to favour European telecoms gear providers such as Nokia and Ericsson, Richard said he hoped the call for more stringent rules would not lead to a de facto veto of Huawei in Europe.

“(It) would go against the EU’s interests and would cause major problems for most of the EU operators,” said Richard, who also chairs the telecoms industry lobby group the GSM Association.

The comments echoed previous remarks made late last year, when he said some of the security fears surrounding Huawei were “complete nonsense”.

Breton, a former French finance minister who led Orange in the early 2000s, in contrast insists that strict security conditions would not create delays in the roll-out of 5G mobile networks on the continent.

“Europe, including Germany of course, is on track,” Breton said at a weekend conference in Munich, Germany. “We are not, and won’t be, late in Europe on the deployment of 5G.”

Breton, who heads the vast “Single Market” portfolio in the new European Commission, which includes industrial policy, has said Europe should preserve its “technological sovereignty” by ensuring it has domestic alternatives in strategic areas.

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