Telenor to continue working with Huawei to build its 5G network despite U.S pressure

Telenor announced on Sunday that it will continue to work with Huawei to roll out Norway’s 5G network. The Norwegian telecommunication company also highlighted the crucial role that Ericsson and Huawei will be playing in building a reliable 5G network in Norway. Following the announcement, Telenor has come out as another one of the companies that are unwilling to break up with Huawei despite the rising pressure from the United States of America.

Telenor To Gradually Phase Out Huawei’s Network Components

Petter-Borre Furberg, the current CEO of Telenor Norway, however, had cleared the company’s stance earlier on Friday that Huawei’s components will gradually be phased out of Telenor’s 5G network. According to his estimate, it is likely to take four to five years for Telenor before it quits using Huawei’s network components.

Following an accusation from the Trump Administration that labeled Huawei as a security threat, the company has been under intense scrutiny from the regulatory bodies not only in North America but also in Europe. Huawei has broadly rejected the allegations on multiple occasions.

According to Telenor’s vice president for communications, Hanne Knudsen, Telenor’s partnership with Huawei is more than a decade old with the Chinese technology company having played a crucial role in helping Telenor roll out its 4G network in Norway. She further added that Huawei will continue to collaborate with Telenor and help upgrade its infrastructure for the 5G network.  

The vice president also remarked that Ericsson makes a valuable new vendor for Norway’s 5G network, however, Telenor’s partnership with Huawei is imperative for the maintenance of the 4G network while upgrading the selected Norwegian regions to the 5G coverage.

Telenor also has a subsidiary in Finland by the name of DNA. The Finnish subsidiary also relies on Huawei’s components for the 5G network. Despite multiple other vendors, DNA has so far not phased out Huawei’s network components.

Huawei Is Excited To Collaborate With Telenor To Build Its 5G Network

Huawei’s spokesperson also responded with a statement that the Chinese tech company is excited to extend its collaboration with Telenor on the 5G network. The rising competition in the league of 5G vendors, the spokesperson added, is welcomed at Huawei.

While Huawei partnered with Telenor for 5G RAN (radio access network), Telenor has chosen Ericsson and Nokia to build the core 5G network. Telefonica Deutschland (O2), the German telecommunication company, also announced Huawei and Nokia as its collaborating partners last week to build O2’s 5G network.

The announcements over the weekend are expected to manifest in the stock market at the start of the new week on Monday.