5G: Sweden, Ericsson's homeland, in turn bans the Chinese Huawei and ZTE

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The Scandinavian country is therefore following the British decision taken in July to ban the Chinese group, while several European countries are gradually closing the door on their telecom networks or are considering doing so, in the wake of American sanctions. Huawei, the world leader in telecom network equipment, is ahead of Sweden's Ericsson (of which it is the main competitor) and Finland's Nokia in market share.

Sweden will ban new equipment from Chinese groups Huawei and ZTE from its new 5G telecoms network as a national security measure, and those already installed will have to be removed by January 1, 2025, the appeals authority said on Tuesday. 'offers.

This ban is the consequence of a new law adopted at the beginning of the year and of the evaluation of the military and intelligence authorities aimed at "ensuring that the use of frequencies does not endanger the security of Sweden", wrote the Swedish Telecom Authority (PTS) in a statement.

The homeland of Ericsson, Huawei's main competitor, thus imitates the British decision taken in July to ban the Chinese group, while several European countries are gradually closing the door on their telecom networks or are considering doing so, in the wake US sanctions.

In France, the Chinese supplier will not be subject to a total ban from the 5G market, but operators already using Huawei will have operating licenses limited to eight years.

Removal of Huawei and ZTE products on January 1, 2025

"The new installations in the central functions for the radio use of the frequency bands must be carried out without the suppliers Huawei or ZTE", writes the Swedish authority in a statement.

"If existing infrastructure in central functions were to be used to offer services in the frequencies concerned, Huawei and ZTE products will have to be removed by January 1, 2025 at the latest," adds the authority.

If these central functions of the network are "dependent on personnel or functions located abroad, these dependencies must be eliminated and if necessary replaced by personnel or functions in Sweden", finally specifies the authority.

A world leader ahead of Swedish Ericsson and Finnish Nokia

Huawei has become in a few years the world leader in telecom network equipment (antennas, etc.), with a notable lead over 5G, and is now ahead of Swedish Ericsson and Finnish Nokia in market share. ZTE is also one of the world's leading suppliers.

Four operators were selected for the Swedish auction round for frequencies 2.3 and 3.5 gigahertz intended for the future 5G network: the former incumbent Telia, as well as Hi3G Access (better known under its trademark "3 ", Net4Mobility (Telenor / Tele2), and audiovisual distributor Teracom, says PTS.

The auctions are scheduled to start on November 10.