Portugal paves the way for a Huawei ban on the country’s 5G network

The Portuguese government has set the stage for a ban on Huawei equipment in the country’s 5G network, in what would be a policy U-turn that deals a serious blow to the Chinese company’s ambitions in Europe.

Telecom industry officials said a document from the Portuguese government’s cyber security council has set out the rationale for imposing a final ban on some 5G equipment, including Huawei, outlining plans to restrict the use of kit deemed “high risk”. Have done

Governments around the world have used the term “high risk vendor” to refer to Huawei in order to curb the use of the company’s equipment.

The question of whether or not to allow telecom groups to use Huawei equipment in 5G infrastructure became a major issue across Europe after Washington launched an offensive to ban the Chinese telecom group on national security grounds. Is.

The UK, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have banned Huawei from building their 5G networks. This year, Germany said it was reviewing the use of Chinese components in its 5G network and examining whether a change in law would be needed.

But Portugal was one of the few countries in Europe that pushed back the lobbying of the US government. Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, whose country has been one of the largest per capita recipients of Chinese investment, told the Financial Times in 2019 that Chinese companies “showed full respect for our legal framework and market rules”.

The security move marks a significant shift in Lisbon’s relatively benign ties with Beijing. It flourished as economic ties between the countries grew over the past decade, but became more difficult as the US pressured European allies to cool their ties with China.

The cyber security council’s document, officially known as “consultations”, was published on the government’s website on Thursday and signed by Antonio Gameiro Marques, a top national security official.

outlines plans to apply exclusions or restrictions on the use of high-risk equipment in its 5G network, but this has no immediate effect as it would need to be approved by the cabinet, which oversees the Cyber ​​Security Council.

The Portuguese government said its assessment could result in the exclusion, restriction or termination of the use of certain devices and services but noted that the result of its assessment was still “classified”.

The three main mobile telecoms groups in Portugal are Altice Portugal, Nous and Vodafone. Altice Portugal, the largest operator, signed a deal with Huawei in 2018 to use the Chinese vendor as part of its 5G rollout.

Huawei said in a statement that it was aware that the Portuguese government had published a statement regarding the security risk of telecommunications equipment and that it was in the process of gathering more information with relevant authorities.

“Huawei has no prior knowledge of this, and has not been consulted regarding this matter,” it said. “Over the past two decades, Huawei has worked closely with Portuguese carriers to build wireless networks and provide quality services that connect millions of people. We will continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations and serve Portuguese customers and partners who rely on our products and services.

As per Portugal’s directive, the Cyber ​​Security Council carried out a detailed review of the equipment used in the country’s communication network.

It determined that certain 5G equipment was considered high risk if, among other things, the company manufacturing it was linked to a government or legal system that had agreements with Portugal or the European Union on data, cyber security or security There were no laws or diplomatic agreements. was deemed responsible for intellectual property or hostile acts of espionage or sabotage against Portugal or its allies.

Altice Portugal and Vodafone did not respond to requests for comment.