Huawei claims Germany, France and Japan using its 5G products
22 December, 2018
Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker has run into its share of roadblocks recently, thanks in no small part to a US-led campaign to boycott its participation in 5G networks.
But according to the firm, the allegations that it poses a national security threat have not derailed operations overseas.
“[Huawei’s] global operations remain stable, with businesses in Germany running normally and its involvement in 5G construction by French telecom operators remaining active,” China Daily reported, citing a statement from the firm.
An internal statement sent to Huawei employees on Wednesday also said that the company is replying to 5G bids from Japanese operators and “actively participating in local 5G trials.”
The statements come after a wave of news regarding possible restrictions placed on operators in overseas market directed at blocking out Huawei.
While neither France nor Germany has issued government policies restricting the use of Huawei equipment for 5G purposes, Japan issued new rules recently that would effectively prohibit government procurement of Huawei or ZTE gear.
The Chinese titan has already been blocked out of the US, Australian and New Zealand markets, but there are conflicting signals from Europe. French mobile network operator Orange said earlier this month that it has ruled out using Huawei as a 5G kit supplier for the next generation roll out in France.
Huawei has been participating in 5G trials with Germany’s largest carrier, Deutsche Telekom, since earlier this year, though the company said this month that they were reevaluating infrastructure suppliers amid security concerns. Recent media reports have also suggested that the German operator offered to shed reliance on Huawei gear in its bid for approval of a merger for its US unit, T-Mobile, with Sprint.
In the UK, BT Group announced recently that they would strip Huawei products from key parts of existing wireless networks and would not use them in core of 5G networks, but stopped short of announcing a blanket ban. On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Huawei has signed contracts with all four UK mobile networks for 5G trials.