Telcom Italia (TIM) has excluded China’s Huawei Technologies from a tender for 5G equipment for the core network it is preparing to build in Italy and Brasil, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Instead the list of invited suppliers comprises Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Mavenir and Affirmed Networks, a company recently acquired by Microsoft.
The move comes amid reports that Italy is considering whether to exclude Huawei from building its 5G network over concerns it could open the way for China to spy on key Western telecoms infrastructure.
Huawei defended its record as a private sector infrastructure group and said: “The security and development of digital Italy should be based on an approach grounded in facts and not baseless allegations.”
The US government has urged its allies to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant from the West’s next-generation communications so that it can put pressure on China to give into its trade demands.
The head of French cybersecurity agency ANSSI ruled out a total ban on Huawei equipment for 5G networks in a newspaper interview on Sunday, but said French telcos were being encouraged to avoid switching to the Chinese company.
Huawei has played no part in the building of TIM’s existing core network in Italy, while the exclusion could mark a change of course for TIM in Brazil, where Huawei has supplied 4G equipment for the core network of the Italian group’s local unit TIM Participacoes.
Huawei has successfully conducted 5G tests with all of Brazil’s major carriers including TIM Brasil and is helping them modernize their infrastructure ahead of a 5G spectrum auction.
A person with knowledge of TIM Participacoes’ plans said another tender for purchasing 5G gear is likely to be carried out in Brazil once the new frequencies are auctioned by the government, which is expected to happen next year.
The Brazilian leader, a former army captain and close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said last month that 5G deployment would have to meet national sovereignty, information and data security requirements.
A Huawei executive this week warned that Brazil could suffer years of delay in deploying 5G network and higher costs if it succumbed to US pressure to snub the Chinese supplier.
