European telecoms execs push back against planned Huawei crackdown

Europe’s telecom industry warns of heavy costs in proposed security overhaul

Usagevpn.com – European telecom operators are challenging plans that could force them to remove equipment supplied by Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE, arguing that the financial burden could weaken investment in next-generation networks.

The dispute centres on the European Union’s proposed Digital Networks Act, presented in January. The package would allow the bloc to prohibit vendors deemed “high risk” for cybersecurity reasons from supplying equipment to European communications networks. While the proposal does not identify companies by name, the measure is widely seen as capable of affecting Chinese technology suppliers.

If a manufacturer receives a high-risk designation, operators would be given three years to take its equipment out of their networks. Telecom groups say that timetable, combined with the scale of existing infrastructure, could make replacement unusually expensive and divert money intended for broadband and mobile expansion.

Executives call for investment safeguards

Connect Europe, a telecom industry lobby group, set out those concerns in an open letter signed by 17 senior executives. The signatories include the chief executives of Orange in France, Deutsche Telekom in Germany and Telefónica in Spain.

“Risks draining the sector of the very capital needed for fibre, 5G and 6G” infrastructure.

The group’s warning refers to the Cybersecurity Act in the context of the broader EU approach. Industry leaders contend that operators are already balancing costly upgrades to fibre networks, 5G rollout and eventual preparation for 6G services.

The executives did not explicitly single out China. However, they said a general prohibition affecting suppliers from outside the European Union could create replacement costs of up to €40 billion for the sector. That estimate illustrates the potential scale of an equipment transition, particularly where hardware has been integrated into network systems over many years.

Security policy meets industrial pressure

EU institutions are now negotiating the proposal, with the European Parliament and the governments of all 27 member states involved in shaping the final rules. The debate arrives during a period of increasingly strained commercial relations between Brussels and Beijing.

For policymakers, the central issue is whether critical communications infrastructure should depend on suppliers viewed as carrying cybersecurity or strategic risks. For operators, the immediate question is how to comply with any new restrictions while continuing to build reliable, fast networks for consumers, businesses and public services.

The EU has already tried to reduce reliance on Huawei and ZTE. In 2023, the European Commission encouraged national governments to remove the two companies from mobile networks because of security concerns. The response was inconsistent across the bloc.

A few years after that recommendation, only 10 EU countries had excluded Chinese hardware suppliers from their networks, despite nearly all member states having adopted some form of regulatory framework. In practice, only a limited group of countries, including Sweden and Latvia, had actively imposed restrictions.

Different national approaches

Sweden was among the first European countries to take a particularly firm position. Before a 5G spectrum auction, its telecom regulator barred Huawei and ZTE equipment from the country’s 5G network. An appeals court later upheld that decision.

France has chosen a more gradual route. Instead of an immediate blanket removal order, authorities have declined to renew licences for Huawei equipment as those authorisations expire. The policy gradually reduces the company’s role in French networks over time.

Romania and Estonia adopted legislation in 2021 that effectively prevented Chinese vendors from participating in their networks. Their laws became part of a wider European trend toward tighter scrutiny of suppliers involved in vital communications infrastructure.

Outside the EU, the United Kingdom adopted an even more sweeping requirement by directing operators to remove Huawei equipment from their 5G networks altogether. Denmark also introduced investment-screening powers, partly prompted by security concerns related to a Huawei bid.

Germany’s slower timetable

Germany has taken a more measured path than some of its European neighbours. The country, which has the EU’s largest economy, reached an agreement with its largest telecom operators to eliminate Huawei and ZTE components from 5G core networks by the end of 2026.

Other equipment used in access and transport networks is scheduled to be addressed by 2029. Critics argue that this longer timetable means Germany could remain exposed to the risks identified by security officials for several more years.

The distinction between network components matters. Core networks handle highly sensitive functions, including the control and management of communications services. Access and transport infrastructure also plays an important role in moving data between users, towers and the wider network. Replacing equipment across these layers can require complex planning, substantial spending and careful work to avoid service disruption.

The forthcoming negotiations will therefore involve more than a simple decision on individual vendors. Lawmakers must weigh cybersecurity objectives against the cost of rebuilding parts of Europe’s telecommunications infrastructure, the pressure on operators’ capital budgets and the EU’s ambitions for widespread fibre, 5G and future 6G connectivity.

For consumers, the outcome may not be immediately visible, but it could influence the pace and cost of network upgrades across the continent. For Europe’s telecom companies, the central demand is clear: security requirements need to be designed in a way that does not leave insufficient funding for the networks the EU wants them to build.