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| Huawei loses the most important market in Europe to Nokia |
Telecom companies Orange and Proximus chose Nokia to help Belgium build a 5G network. Because they dropped Huawei under US pressure to force the Chinese company not to supply large telecommunications equipment.
These steps are the first steps that European commercial operators are taking to remove Huawei from the next generation network. The move was proposed after months of diplomatic pressure on Washington that Beijing might use Huawei's spy devices. .
Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is the seat of the European Union's administration and parliament, making it a source of special interest for US intelligence agencies.
"Belgian wireless networks are 100% dependent on Chinese suppliers - NATO and European Union officials use these networks to make calls," said independent Danish communications consultant John Strand. He added, "The signal from the operator is: Access to a secure network is very important."
Huawei, the world's largest telecom equipment provider, vehemently denies the US allegations and has strongly criticized calls to ban 5G contracts. However, on Friday, the company announced that it had accepted Orange Belgium and Proximus' decision.
A Huawei spokesperson said: "This is the result of the tender organized by the operators and also the result of the free market." “We welcome fair competition. The more diverse the supply chain, the more intense the competition,” he added. Belgium has been supplying equipment for more than a decade and its commitment remains unchanged.
The radio supply agreement to Nokia Orange Belgium and Proximus is seen as a driving force for Nokia. Even with Huawei coming under pressure, it will be difficult for Nokia to enter the 5G market earlier this year.
"I've been trying to become a RAN provider for Orange Belgium since 2003, when the company was still called Mobistar. In the end, we did," Nokia's head of cell phone networks (Tommy Oito) said in a tweet.
Belgium and Proximus did not disclose the contract value. But they said: Ericsson will provide the core of the 5G network.
European Union member states increasingly control so-called high-risk sellers. Analysts said it studied Huawei's governance and technology and could urge other European operators to strip their networks.
In addition, Nokia won a request to provide British Telecom with data management software to replace the existing unspecified provider.