Vodafone will remove all Huawei equipment that is part of the European mobile network structure. The decision comes after the United Kingdom announced that it would give the Chinese manufacturer the green light to build the 5G network on British soil, although without access to non-contentious parts of the infrastructure.
According to statements by Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone, Reuters, the decision also comes within the framework of the launch of a set of tools by the European Commission to mitigate the dangers related to the adoption of 5G by its Member States.
It should be remembered that the toolbox announced by Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president of PastaEra Digital, is not aimed at any specific country or company, but contains measures aimed at respecting the internal market and citizens against cyber hazards related to 5G.
In all, the operation of removing the components manufactured by Huawei from the most sensitive parts of Vodafone's European mobile network infrastructure will take about 5 years to be carried out, associated with a cost of 200 million euros.
The head of Vodafone advances, in an interview with The Guardian, that if all countries in Europe put into practice the decision of the British government to place a maximum limit of 35% on participation in the low risk parts of the network infrastructure to companies such as Huawei, this could mean a delay in the implementation of 5G in the territory.
We need to move forward with mobile networks of the fifth generation to gain an advantage in this competitive scenario. The United States and China are leading the race. We cannot postpone the implementation and the application of a ceiling would be very restrictive, says the head of the British company.
