As reported by Bloomberg, this week, the government of Portugal recommended prohibiting local operators from purchasing 5G equipment from manufacturers based outside the European Union or from countries that are not part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The information was obtained in a document released by the Security Assessment Commission of Portugal. The material mentions the need to block some equipment considered “high risk”, as a way to minimize breaches in the security of wireless networks and national services.
The decision would be controversial for Portugal. The country has had good relations with China's technology companies for years. Several of the Portuguese telecommunications companies already use Huawei components.
Altice Portugal, the country's largest wireless operator, signed an agreement in 2018 to use Huawei equipment in part of its 5G rollout.
If Portugal goes ahead with the ban, a potentially profound infrastructure swap could take a long time.
"Huawei has no prior knowledge and was not consulted on this matter," a Huawei spokesperson said. Financial Times. “Over the last two decades, Huawei has worked with Portuguese operators to build wireless networks and provide quality services that connect millions of people”, he highlighted.
The brand claimed that it will continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations and serve Portuguese customers and partners who trust its products and services.
So far, the Portuguese government has not formally complied with the decision, so Huawei's equipment will be able to operate normally for the time being.
