The Chinese network supplier Huawei is suing the exclusion from the 5G network expansion in Sweden. The Swedish Huawei subsidiary has appealed to the administrative court in Stockholm, the company announced on Friday. Huawei alleges “serious” legal violations and is confident that “the court will examine the case in an impartial manner”.

In Sweden it says in the coming week the auction of the 5G frequencies at 3.5 GHz. In October, the Swedish regulatory authority PTS announced the award conditions for a 5G license and explicitly excluded the Chinese suppliers Huawei and ZTE. Network operators who want to receive a license to use the frequencies bought at auction must therefore forego the use of Chinese suppliers. In addition, existing Chinese hardware that takes on central functions is to be replaced by 2025.

USA vs. China Against the background of the economic war between the USA and China and previously unproven allegations of espionage against Chinese companies, the involvement of equipment manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE in the development of the security-critical 5G infrastructure is also in Europe controversial. While the EU Commission and the German government initially followed a comparatively moderate course, Italy and Great Britain in addition to Sweden have decided to exclude the Chinese providers in whole or in part from setting up the 5G infrastructure. Individual network operators are already swiveling around.

Huawei says it recognizes the security interests of Europeans and supported the path taken by the federal government to check and certify critical hardware. But the wrestling continues behind the scenes. According to the latest media reports, the federal government is considering expanding the review of suppliers with the new version of the IT Security Act, which could make access to the German market for Huawei and ZTE significantly more difficult and probably also block it. The EU Commission is also urging.

Flawless security record “We welcome all impartial and fact-based cybersecurity requirements clear and verifiable technical standards as well as transparent approval procedures, “said Huawei on Friday. Huawei has “worked fully with the network operators and the PTS to meet their security requirements with regard to the 5G infrastructure”. The company has an impeccable safety record in Sweden and warns of the negative effects on the economy, competition and innovation.

“We have appealed to the Stockholm Administrative Court to argue that the PTS’s decision was wrong Facts based and based on several serious violations of Swedish law and EU law, “said a Huawei spokesman. “We trust that the court will examine the case in an impartial manner and that Huawei’s legitimate rights and interests can be protected.”

( vbr)