Romanian has signed-off on a bill to ban Huawei, other Chinese vendors from its 5G networks
Romania can now be added to the growing list of countries, particularly in Europe, that is moving to deny Huawei and other Chinese vendors from involvement its 5G network buildouts. The Romanian government has signed off on a bill that is expected to make its way through parliament next week that would solidify the ban, Reuters reported.
The bill is part of a 2019 agreement established with the U.S. government to a conduct a “careful, and complete evaluation of 5G vendors.”
Part of the inquiry in Romania reportedly included evaluating whether Huawei was subject to “control by a foreign government” following accusations from the U.S. government that a number of Chinese vendors are being used by the Chinese government to spy on foreign countries. These accusations have been denied by the companies.
Recently, Sweden made a similar decision, banning operators taking part in a forthcoming 5G auction from using products made by Huawei and ZTE.
Huawei, one of five Chinese equipment vendors on the Federal Communications Commission’s list of companies that pose “unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons,” has been fully or partially banned from a number of countries around the world and amid the pressure from U.S. sanctions and felt compelled to sell its consumer smartphone brand Honor.
However, Huawei did receive a win in the Caribbean where the government of the Dominican Republic said that the specifications of the international tender for the implementation of 5G networks in the country will not exclude Huawei. Nationwide deployment in the Dominican Republic scheduled to begin November 2021.
At a pre-briefing MWC Shanghai 2021, Ryan Ding, president of Huawei’s Carrier Business Group, claimed the company has built over half of the 140 commercial 5G networks deployed in 59 countries so far, and in 2020, the company’s reported sales revenues reached CNY 891.4 billion ($136.7 billion) in 2020, up 3.8% year-on-year, despite the impact that the trade restrictions have had on its operations outside China.
