Bouygues Telecom based in France says it will replace 3,000 Huawei-made mobile antennas in France by 2028. This follows a decision by the country’s authorities to remove equipment made by the Chinese company from highly-populated areas, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Bouygues mentioned on Thursday.
This comes on the back of an allegation made by the United States that Huawei’s equipment can be used by China for spying on other countries. The Chinese company on its part has denied this allegation which has resulted in the introduction of restriction by its Washington allies.
Meanwhile, French authorities have cautioned telecom operators planning to buy Huawei 5G equipment that they will not be able to renew licenses for the gear once they expire, effectively phasing out the Chinese company out of mobile networks by 2028 according to Reuters.
Oliver Roussat, Deputy CEO of Bouygues told the media “a number of sites have to be dismantled” adding that there are currently 3,000 sites with Huawei equipment. “The dismantling will be carried out over a period of eight years, with a limited impact on our operating results,” Roussat said.
However, Bouygues is yet announce the company to replace Huawei after the phasing out is complete. As is stands, Huawei mobile gear has been banned from major cities in France like Strasbourg, Toulouse, Rennes and Brest. Mobile equipment made by the Chinese firm cannot be used in Paris either.
Bouygues, whose activities span media, construction and telecoms, has said repeatedly that it would seek compensation from the French government if it had to replace Huawei equipment. Roussat says the company is in talks with the French government on the matter.
He further noted that the group had also launched several legal procedures in parallel against the French state adding that the bans only targeted highly populated areas so far.
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I’m Deborah Aba Narkoah. I’m an avid reader, writer and public speaker.
