According to the latest news on July 23, according to foreign media reports, according to three people familiar with the matter, French regulators have issued a notice to telecom operators planning to purchase Huawei’s 5G equipment: once the equipment expires, they will not be able to renew the Huawei equipment license.This is equivalent to actually prohibiting Huawei from participating in the country's 5G network construction before 2028!
The rapid change of France's face is staggering. Just a few days ago, France also stated that it would not prohibit Huawei from investing in France. Earlier, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated in an interview with Radio France that there is no “total prohibition” of Huawei in France, but that it will protect sensitive locations. "We will not prohibit Huawei from investing in 5G, but we will protect national security interests." He added.
ANSSI, the French cybersecurity agency, said earlier this month that it would allow operators to use equipment, including Huawei, with a license period of 3 to 8 years. But it added that it is urging telecommunications companies that currently do not use the equipment of the Chinese company to avoid switching to Huawei equipment. Operators must apply for dozens of equipment licenses to cover different regions of the country.
People familiar with the matter said that ANSSI has notified operators of most permit decisions in large cities. Most of the authorization period for Huawei equipment is three to five years, and most of the equipment authorizations from European competitors Ericsson or Nokia have obtained an eight-year license.
A person familiar with the matter added that French regulators have also told operators in informal conversations in recent months that Huawei's equipment licenses will not be renewed thereafter, but there is no formal statement in its documents. ANSSI and Huawei declined to comment on this.
