Telecom operators Orange Belgium and Proximus have decided to progressively replace Huawei Technologies Co-made (華為) mobile equipment in Belgium and Luxembourg with Nokia gear, two sources close to the matter said.
The operators, which share their mobile network, had faced political pressure to drop Huawei as a supplier following US accusations that Huawei’s gear could be used for spying by Beijing, the sources said.
Orange and Nokia declined to comment. Proximus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening, while Huawei had no immediate comment.
Photo: Reuters
The move by Orange and Proximus represents one of the first cases in Europe where commercial operators have dropped Huawei from their 5G networks in response to political pressure.
China and Huawei deny the spying allegations, but Belgium’s capital, Brussels, is home to the EU’s executive body and parliament, making it a strategic location and a matter of particular concern for US intelligence agencies.
“There’s a profound insistence on the need to push Huawei towards the exit,” one of the two sources said.
“There’s also a growing concern about Huawei’s capacity to produce its equipment,” the source added, referring to the US’ decision to cut off Huawei’s access to vital computer chips.
Nokia last month announced that it had clinched a deal with Britain’s biggest mobile operator BT Group PLC to supply 5G radio equipment.
Proximus and Orange’s Belgian division last year signed an agreement to share their mobile network, which is why the decision to shift to Nokia was a collective one.
Orange Belgium has partnered with Huawei since 2007 for the deployment of its mobile network in Belgium and Luxembourg. Proximus chose the Shenzhen-based company in 2009 for the progressive upgrading of its network.
Other European countries are moving toward greater restrictions on Huawei.
The German government is planning tougher oversight of telecom network vendors that would make it harder for Huawei to keep a foothold in Europe’s largest market.
France, the EU’s second-largest economy, would de facto ban Huawei’s mobile equipment by 2028, sources close to the matter said in July.
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