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| Huawei resumes against its 5G ban in Sweden |
The Swedish telecom regulator announced Friday that Huawei has appealed Sweden's decision to ban Chinese manufacturers of telecommunications equipment from the 5G network.
A spokesperson for the Swedish Telecom Regulatory Authority said: "What is happening now is that we are sending the appeal to the Stockholm Administrative Court. After that, they will look into this matter."
Sweden blocked both Huawei and ZTE from accessing the 5G network last month and joined other European countries that have imposed restrictions on the role of Chinese service providers for security reasons.
“We believe that the decision that we have made is neither good for our customers nor good for Sweden,” said Kenneth Fredrickson, Huawei Vice President for Central, Eastern and Northern Europe. "We hope so. The Swedish court is considering taking appropriate measures and making decisions in accordance with the law," he added.
After Washington exerted diplomatic pressure, European governments tightened their control over the Chinese companies building 5G networks. Plaintiffs claim that Beijing could use Huawei devices for spying. Huawei has repeatedly denied that this poses a national security risk.
The Swedish Telecom Regulatory Authority is mandating companies that participated in the 5G spectrum auction by January 1, 2025, to remove Huawei and ZTE devices from their existing infrastructure and essential functions.
The auction is expected to start next week, and Nokia and Ericsson will benefit Nordic competitors.
China's Foreign Ministry said in October last year that Sweden should lift the ban on the proposed 5G spectrum auction by Huawei and ZTE in order to avoid "negative impacts" on its business.
"China expresses its strong dissatisfaction with Sweden," Foreign Ministry spokesman Gao Legian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on October 21.
"Sweden should adhere to an objective and fair position and correct wrong decisions in order to avoid negative effects on Sino-Swiss economic and trade cooperation and Swedish companies' activities in China."